Duty of the soldier
by PiedpiperofTamlyin
Summary: A retelling of the first God eater game with more sides stories to provide a deeper insight into many of the familiar characters
1. Chapter 1

AN: this if the first fic I've written and I apologize if it is not up to a certain calibre.

This is a fanfiction of the God Eater games. I played and finished the game on PC not too long ago and it really left an impression on me as it was a great game and barring certain points of repetition it was a solid game overall so let's get to the important part.

The story takes place during God Eater part 1 and will include the main storyline along with some added story sections here and there.

Now onto the story

Name: James Castor

Height: 5'6"

Build: medium

Hair: white

Eye colour: red

Weapon of choice: spear

Disclaimer: I don't own Bandai nor work there nor have any control over God Eater. I do have creative control over the OC.

Prologue

In a ruined city in an unknown part of the world, silence filled the ruins of a fallen city. What was once a sprawling metropolis was now reduced to rubble and debris, a far cry from the glorious form it once had.

The reason for this destruction slowly made it's way through the ruins of the streets. On most days it would prowl the area, searching for those lesser in an effort to satiate it's need to feed but today it was not the predator.

It was the prey

The hulking monster which was as tall as a two storey building and as long as a bus, commonly referred to Vajra learned that there are some creatures on the planet that are far more dangerous than it was.

"Whoosh",

With a sudden gust of wind, the Vajra's front left foot was sent flying into the air, torn apart by the predator that mercilessly hunted it down. It tried to run, leaping onto a small building but the predator fired a blast of energy aimed at the building. The resultant explosion told the Vajra that it could no longer hide.

It turned around and stared at its predator. Like how man greeted the reaper when it came for them, the Vajra looked into the face of its killer.

Though there was no exact point of measurement, it was clear enough that the creature was taller than a five story building. It moved on four feet and had black fur. The scariest part of the creature was the cold blue eyes that could send shivers down anyone's spine.

Defiant to the bitter end, the Vajra roared at its ender and charged forward like the lion it looked like. The 'wolf' stood its ground calmly waiting till it was close enough then pounced.

It was all over in a flash.

The body of the Vajra fell on one side while it's head rolled away in another direction. The wolf turned around and stood silently for a while waiting to see it's prey be swallowed into the ground before calming down.

To it's prey, it looked like death incarnate. It took the form of a wolf, incredibly ferocious and utterly relentless in the pursuit of it's target.

However to the real world, to the remaining humans that still lived on after the apocalypse had come and gone, the wolf was in fact a teenage boy. He was clothed fully in black and had most of his face hidden by a mask.

His weapon of choice, his trustworthy scythe that had been the downfall of many enemies gently rested on his back. He stood back up and turned around, breathing a sigh of relief now that his mission was over.

"Well done kid", said another voice coming from an older man. He turned around and saw that he was not alone, before him stood five others dressed in similar clothes but wielded different weapons and were all much older than him.

"Not bad", said another man walking towards the teen "With this our last mission is complete. Looks like we can all retire and live out those crazy fantasies we've all wanted"

"I know what I want", said a girl happily "A beach house in Hawaii."

"You know that place is crawling with Aragami right?" interjected another girl.

"Damn it don't ruin my dreams", shouted the first girl.

"So we can all take a break now", said the teenager slowly walking back to his comrades "Sounds like a total bore".

"Glad you think that", said the oldest man "Because one of the circumstances for our release is that one of us would have to remain inside the corporation. Of course they would be given a clean slate, a new name and identity as well".

"And I guess I drew the short straw in this deal huh?" asked the teen sounding unamused.

"Wow kid, I didn't know you were this smart", remarked a cocky man only to have the teenager show him the middle finger.

"So here you go", said the old man handing the teenager some papers. He waited quietly as the teen went through the documents followed by him looking up, clearly not happy with the decision.

"What the hell? I'm being assigned to the far east branch?"

AN: as I said this is my first FF so it's a learning process for me.

If you like it or notice any grammar mistakes please let me know. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: so the first chapter is done and now it's time for the next.

Disclaimer: have no ownership of the God Eater franchise but do have control over the OC's.

Day one

Once he had finished making a big noise about his transfer, the teenager was placed in a helicopter then headed back to his branch. He didn't really have much to pack up so it was not a problem to clean up his room. All of his contents fitted into a small cardboard box which he carried with him on the way out.

His only problem came in the form of leaving his trusted weapon behind. He paused momentarily, turning to the side and taking one last look at his guardian then placed his right hand on the blade.

'You saved me on more times than I can count', he thought looking at the blade, still as sharp as the day he first got it. 'But it's time for you to take the rest you deserve. Goodbye old friend'.

He was honestly surprised to find that when he went into the elevator and headed outside, he was greeted by his old teammates. There were no words exchanged, no shows of affection either, it needn't be said. They had gone through the toughest missions that most teams would deem impossible or a suicide mission and come out that much stronger. The team of people that he had fought alongside on so many missions for many years simply smiled at him as he headed towards the plane. Once on board, he looked at them one last time before turning away and setting himself for a new life filled with uncertainty and challenges.

He took a moment to study the papers on the table before him.

"James Castor?" he said raising an eyebrow "Damn…"

He spent the rest of the trip reading up and learned as much as he could about his new identity as well as the backstory behind it. He was glad that the corporation did as much work as possible to craft a brand new identity along with providing the necessary tools that would come with this new life.

After going to the bathroom and changing himself to adopt to his new self, he stared at himself in the mirror. He looked like a completely different person from who he was before.

James Castor was no longer a name on the paper.

"We'll be landing at the Far East in two more minutes", said the pilot

"Alright", said James quietly sitting down on one of the chairs, letting his mind wander for a little while.

Once the plane landed, he was greeted by a soldier who led him to a jeep. They got inside, the soldier started the engine and the duo headed out.

"So I heard you're from the developmental branch in Delhi", said the soldier in an attempt to make conversation "What's it like over there?"

"Same as it is everywhere", replied James looking at the destroyed buildings and battered sky scrapers on either side "Life each day is a struggle for everyone inside and outside the corporation".

"Yeah but everyone in Fenrir have it much easier than most", he countered.

'That's one way of looking at it', thought James noticing something coming up on the horizon.

"And that's the pride and joy of the far east branch, wall Heimdall", said the soldier with an air of confidence.

James did his best to act surprised by the massive wall that they approached. From what he remembered, Korea, Mexico, Moscow and Johannesburg also followed the same designs. Having giant walls built up with a Fenrir branch at the centre and all the people living inside the wall.

Under circumstances like that, people are bound to cause trouble from time to time but to the best of his knowledge that had never happened. Of all the places he visited, the people there sounded truly happy and never once voiced a problem with Fenrir and it's style of operating.

The rest of the trip was standard. They got through the gate, headed to the one towering building at the centre. Once there the soldier told James that his belongings would be waiting in his room. James thanked the soldier and headed inside.

After providing the required papers, he headed to a large metal room with a strange device at the centre.

"Please place your hand in the chamber", said a voice from the speakers. He only now noticed the glass panes at the top of this room, which acted as a one way mirror. He simply did as complied and the machine closed with his hand still inside.

He felt a slight sting coming from his left hand but it was manageable. After a few seconds, the machine opened up, revealing that he was now holding a god arc with a short sword attached and his left arm had a bracelet on it.

'Ah', he thought upon inspecting the bracelet 'That's how they're able to mass produce these things'.

"Please report to the main room", said the voice and in response a door opened up behind him. James simply headed out without spending too long here. He placed his god arc in one of the stands then took the elevator, heading to the mission room.

Once he stepped out, he found another teenager sitting casually on the sofa, tapping his foot for some reason. He wore on a beanie had short pants and a vest that was only buttoned up at the top. This in turn revealed his toned body.

The teenager looked at him briefly then said "I just finished a few seconds from you so that would make me your senior".

He hopped off the sofa, came towards then extended his right arm out and gave him a big grim "Names Kota Fujiki, nice to meet you".

He was about to answer when suddenly he heard a voice from his right shouting "Attention".

The two immediately turned to the person who yelled then saluted. It was only after this that James noticed the lady standing before them with a clipboard in one hand while dressed in some very tight clothing.

"So you're our two newest recruits", she said looking at the two of them like how a predator would do to it's prey. This act did not surprise James who made extra effort to make himself look like the weaker one here.

"Kota Fujiki, I just joined here ma'am. I use a first generation machine gun type God arc", shouted Kota

"James Castor transferred from Delhi developmental", shouted James "I'm a second generation God arc user but have yet to settle on a choice of weapon."

That last part was a lie. He knew what kind of weapon suited him best but at the moment, he needed to put as much distance between him and his past as possible.

"So you're a new type then", said the lady staring at him then glancing at her clipboard "I heard you were put on an accelerated course which was why you came here faster than most other cadets".

"Yes ma'am", he said making eye contact with her while having a blank expression.

"They say the new types are the future of Fenrir. Do you know why that is?" she asked

"New types are able to switch between melee type and long range type god arcs on the fly. That allows them to adapt to a wider range of situations than the first generation".

"That being said it does not mean that one generation is greater than the other. There are many occasions where a first generation God eater would fare better than a second generation."

"Oh?" she said surprised by that statement "And why is that?"

"Experience", replied James calmly "Though the God arc's improvement would mean that more people can join the second generation. I believe that it is the God eater and not the God arc that matters in the end which is why the first generation God eaters cannot simply be written off".

"An interesting answer", said the lady with a nod "And here I thought I'd get a chance to yell at you for being cocky. "

"That aside, my name is Tsubaki Amamiya. I am the second in command here at the Far East. This is your first day so I'll allow you to get acclimatized to your surroundings but I expect both of you to be ready here at exactly 0800 tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am", they said together and the lady left.

"Phew, talk about scary as hell", said Kota relaxing now that Tsubaki was gone.

"Looks like you and I are both going to be working together a lot now", he said smiling and patting James on the shoulder "Here's hoping we become an awesome tag team".

"Yes here's hoping", said James returning with a small smile.

'This is definitely different from what my usual pace', thought James.

AN: Bam! Another one down and let's move onto the next.

If you like it please review it and let me know what you think of things.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: have no ownership of the God Eater franchise but do have control over the OC's.

The swing of things

It was a simple procedure they followed back in his old team. When a mission was complete, they were allowed to go around town and relax doing whatever they wanted. As much as the team was a team, it was a fact that spending too much time together would cause trouble so they agreed to spend their down time apart, very rarely overlapping.

They'd get a message on their cells, alerting them it was time and they would head back to HQ, where they'd be given their next mission.

The rest of their day was not that big of a deal. They met with Doctor Sakaki and Director Johannes. The former sounded a little eccentric while the latter spoke with a tone that sounded like he looked down on everyone. Not sure if it was intended of course but they did not spend too long there anyway.

After that, Kota and James separated with James touring the facility and learning about all the rooms while Kota possibly made it a point to know about the people there. When they met back up in the night, they both exchanged stories and headed to sleep.

"Looks like we're going to be roommates", he commented upon noticing that their rooms were side to side "Goodnight buddy".

James watched him head into his room and he did the same. Once inside, he noticed the small cardboard box waiting for him and got the items out. He placed the items on the nearby table then changed into some clothes for the night.

James wasted no time finding the training room and doing his regular routine in the morning. He made it a habit of spending at least 30 minutes every day on exercise to ensure that he never lost that edge from before.

What he did not notice at the time was that someone was watching this and smiled a little.

"Where's Kota?" asked James to no one in particular when he headed to the main room and found that he was alone. For a moment he heard the sound of typing and headed towards the railing. It was then he noticed a girl standing at the table, completely focused on the work before her.

James quietly came down the stairs and when he reached the second last step, the girl rose from her computer and greeted him with a smile. The girl had reddish brown dark hair with dark brown eyes. Her uniform consisted of short sleeve white dress and corset type vest. She also wore a pair of pantyhose and a pair of red flats.

"I didn't think anyone is up this early", he said

"I have to wake up early or else it will take longer to correlate this information into relevant mission packages for the team", said the girl

"Sorry I totally forgot", he said now standing opposite to the table "My name is James Castor, pleased to meet you".

There were many times he remembered that other than shaking hands when greeting a person, it was a good idea to bow. In ancient times, especially in the far east people would actually bow to others as a sign of greeting. It is said that the deeper the bow, the greater respect the person had.

Remembering this, James initiated a bow of respect to the girl but he bent forward so deep that his head hit the wooden table causing him to flounder back a little.

"Are you okay?" she asked immediately coming towards him.

"Yeah, that was my own fault really", replied James gingerly rubbing his head

"You didn't have to introduce yourself to me James", said the girl "I know about you and Kota joining here."

"I do find myself at a loss though, not knowing your name", he said

"I'm Hibari Takeda. I'll be your operator from here on out and will be guiding you in missions and hopefully keeping your butts out of the fire".

"Then I am in your care ma'am", said James smiling sheepishly

"Hey you don't need to call me 'ma'am' or anything", said Hibari waving her hand dismissively "We're not all that old."

James paused for a moment, seemingly confused by the statement "Ah, you read my file".

"Yep, that's how I know we're only two months apart in age so don't address me like I'm your superior or anything".

"You seem to be getting along well with the others", said another voice. The two of them turned around and saw a much older man coming out of the elevator and greeting them with a warm smile.

The adult had long black hair hanging over his left eye. He had on what looked like the commander uniform but had a few customizations added. For starters the coattails went further down his waist and was open to show his black undershirt. He also had a pair of dark grey cargo pants and military boots.

"Good morning Lindow, what are you doing up so early?" asked Hibari.

"Thought I might try not having a nightcap once in a while", he said rubbing the back of his head "You must be James."

James in turn was about to respond with a bow but chose not to considering what happened last time. Instead he went into attention and saluted Lindow

"Very pleased to meet you sir and I hope we get along well", said James sounding like a soldier on his first day in the army.

"Hey now one thing you have to understand here is that you don't need to stand on ceremony with everyone", said Lindow reacting the same way Hibari did "Long as you always salute my sister and the director you can be casual with the others".

"Your sister?" repeated James tilting his head a little "Wait… you're Tsubaki ma'am's brother?"

"We'll talk about that later", he said turning back to Hibari "So what's on the mission docket today?"

"Well today it's going to be a cakewalk because you'll be showing James here the ropes", she said.

"Sweet, alright then rook grab your god arc and meet me on the flight deck", said Lindow heading to another elevator.

"So who was that guy?" asked James to her.

"Lindow's the most experienced god eater we've got in the far east. He's got a 90% survival rate making him our most prolific god eater as well. It's a good thing that you're first mission is going to be with Lindow, I'm sure you'll learn well from him".

James nodded and not wanting to waste any time, he headed to the terminal to select his weapon. The blades were great but that was never really his forte. The hammer required patience and he hated that. He looked at the scythe then contemplated about whether or not he wanted to select it. He remembered how accustomed he got to that weapon and how easy it was to dispatch his enemies with it.

In the end he settled on the spear seeing as it was a pole type weapon so it shouldn't be too much of a departure from his regular weapon. Once that was selected, he got onto the helicopter and headed to the mission area with Lindow.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: originally wanted to add some more to the previous chapter but I decided to cut it short. Being too long can be troublesome now and then so I'll try and keep each chapter between 1000-2000.

Disclaimer: have no ownership of the God Eater franchise but do have control over the OC's.

The first mission

"So you know anything about today's mission?" asked Lindow taking out a cigarette then lit it up and put it in his mouth.

The two of them landed at the mission area which was a ruined city. Instead of immediately heading out to find their targets, Lindow took a moment to learn a little about the new recruit.

"We're to deal with a few ogretails that have been causing trouble for a supply group", replied James.

"You have any plan of action on how to dispatch them?" he asked

"Ogretails can be killed in any number of ways. As you can see I have selected a spear for close range and a sniper for long range which is capable of beating the aragami", replied James

"Alright, now I'll be following you around this time and keeping an eye on you. This is your first mission so it'll be all you this time. I'll only come in if things get bad".

James nodded then headed towards the right side. It did not take too long for them to run into ogretails He expected James to be taken back like so many other first timers, but the teenager remained calm. Five of the aragami appeared and attacked James from all sides.

In response he headed to the open area while the aragami chased him. All of a sudden he turned around on his right hell then swung out at the one at the head of the pack. This resulted with him cleaving the ogretail in two with a single swing. Once James was sure it was dead he ran back to the centre of the area.

Another ogretail attacked with a leap and opened its jaws as it descended. James slid underneath the creature and as it landed and turned around, he shifted from spear to sniper firing a point blank fire bullet straight at the target.

'Of course a single bullet isn't enough to take down ogretails', thought Lindow and he was right. The ogretail charged out of the small cloud of smoke caused from the bullet exploding and opened it's jaws but James did not miss a step. He thrust his spear forward, tearing through the creature, ending it in that instant.

He then turned around and threw the carcass at the remaining three. The dead body acted as a bowling ball, effectively causing all three pursuers to head off in separate directions. James did not let this chance go to waste and pursued the one on the right.

'Hmm,' thought Lindow 'Kid doesn't really look it but he's got a sharp mind and good skills with a weapon to boot. His papers show that he's an above average in all his field tests but there's no way an above average is this good on the first day in actual combat'.

It was at this point he noticed the last ogretail attacking James from his blind spot. Lindow was about to react when James charged his spear, pointed it to the ground then released it's power which shot him into the air, completely avoiding his attacker. Once he was above the target, James shifted himself and fell down spear first so that when he landed, his weapon went through and through the aragami.

The teenager hopped off the fallen foe, yanking his spear out and made his way towards Lindow.

"Well done kid, a little flashy here and there but I got to admit; you did well for your first outing", he said patting James on the shoulder "Now how's about we head back and I'll treat you to a cold glass of beer".

"I'm not old enough to drink Lindow"

"I won't tell if you don't", he teased

In the end James gave no response. The two of them waited for the helicopter to arrive then got on board.

It did not take long for them to get back to the branch. When they did, they left their god arcs at the maintenance bay then headed to the main room.

Upon exiting the elevator, they noticed someone walking towards them. Judging from appearances alone, she was probably in the same age category as Lindow, albeit slightly younger when looking at her face. She had fair skin and black hair in a bowl cut on her sides. She wore on a thin black top with a green material lopping around her neck. The top also revealed some of her hips and stomach. She wore a skirt with green frills that was short on one side and long on the other. She also wore a pair of high heeled open toed shoes. The only accessory he noticed her wearing was a green ribbon tied to her right arm.

James always respected women who were able to effectively fight on the battlefield while wearing shoes that forced you on your toes the whole entire time.

"So this is the rookie everyone's talking about", she said with a kind smile "Name's Sakuya Tachibana, nice to meet you rook".

"James Castor", he said nodding towards her.

"I take it Lindow must have put you through the ringer huh?" she asked pointing her thumb at James' teammate "What did you do? Just stand there and watch the kid do all the work?"

"Hey I'll have you know I was there providing moral support the whole time", objected Lindow, causing James to clear his throat.

"Hey James come on don't leave a buddy hanging", said the veteran, looking for a lifeline.

"It is true that Lindow being there did give me some form of confidence", said James wondering if she'd believe that lie.

"Well this might be a problem for me", said Sakuya with a huff "I was asked by the higher ups to take James out on another mission".

"Back to back on his first day?" asked Lindow in surprise

"It's alright", said James breaking the knuckles in his fingers "I am itching for another round anyway. First let me change clothes."

This whole time he was here, he still wore on the cadet uniforms that Fenrir provided rookies. Now that he was here it was time for him to change into something more appropriate.

"So how did the kid do?" asked Sakuya while James was changing clothes.

"Good, scary good to be honest", replied Lindow looking in the direction the subject of their discussion had gone.

"What do you mean?" she asked

"You know how some people are just naturally good at singing even though they've never sung a song in their lives?" he asked "That's James except instead of singing…"

"It's god eating", she interjected.

"Yeah, the ogretails we fought never stood a chance against him."

"So isn't that a good thing?"

"It would be but the thing is not one person at developmental noticed this", he said looking at her "There's no way I'll believe someone that talented flew under the radar for that long".

They wanted to continue the conversation but the elevator doors opened and James stepped out. He now wore a red jacket that was open to reveal the black shirt inside. His pants were white with black accents along the sides and a pair of black military boots to finish his look.

"How do I look?" he said pushing his hair back.

"Nice, now let's get going", said Sakuya nodding towards the elevator heading to the helipad.

James nodded and in no time the two of them headed out. They did not spend much time talking and soon enough they headed to the mission area which was full of dark clouds and constant rain.

"Damn", said James looking at the tornado at the centre "What is up with that?"

"Rumours say because of how the climate changed drastically because of the aragami attack, the tornado will never stop spinning", said Sakuya in an effort to provide some information.

"Wow…" said James staring at it for a minute then turned around "Is it weird that I want to touch it?"

"Yes very weird", she said stifling a chuckle "So our mission today is to take out three cocoon maidens. I'll provide sniper cover for you from here. Just make sure to stay out of my firing line alright?"

"Got it boss", he said casually saluting her.

As that happened, the two of them turned around, noticing one cocoon maiden rise up from the ground. Sakuya readied her rifle but James held his spear up like a javelin thrower and flung it at the target. The speed at which he threw the weapon, surprised the girl and the cocoon maiden but it was the latter that paid the price. The spear impaled the aragami and James dashed forward.

When he drew closer another cocoon maiden shot up from the ground and opened its chest to attack with a barrage of spikes but James was faster. He quickly leapt up and over the attacker; landing behind it then yanked his spear out of the fallen cocoon maiden, then spun around and lopped its head off.

As the second maiden turned around, the first maiden's head fell just where he wanted. James rammed the flat side of his god arc into the send, turning it into a projectile which hit the cocoon maiden and dazed it for a moment.

'Lindow's right', thought Sakuya looking out of the viewfinder for a moment then back through it 'The kids got skills no one his age should have.'

In the span of another thirty seconds the last cocoon maiden fell. James now calmly walked towards Sakuya who was still having a tough time believing how quickly this mission was over.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No you're good", she said trying to figure out how fast the rookie in front of her completed the mission.

With the mission over, the two of them headed back to the base. Once there, Sakuya said that she would be going to her room and relaxing a little while James opted to stay in the lounge and do some reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: have no ownership of the God Eater franchise but do have control over the OC's.

No one is safe

Because he was so focused on his reading, he did not notice how much time had passed. Thanks to that when he raised his head up to look at the time, he was surprised to see that it was almost 11pm.

"Holy hell I was reading that long?" he shouted in surprise

"I was wondering what was it that had you so interested but didn't want to disturb you", said Hibari with an amused chuckle. "By the way what are you reading?"

"The origin of aragami and the ongoing debate on whether or not it is good for the environment", he replied "Postulated by Strauss and Mitchell and written by John Jones".

"Sounds like a good read", she said trying to sound supportive but let out a little yawn

"I can understand how it'd sound boring to most others. By the way you're looking tired, you calling it a night?"

"Yeah", she said stretching her arms up "I need a break from reading all those dockets and compiling all that information. Maybe I should turn in a little early."

With that said, the two of them bid each other good night then headed to their own rooms and fell asleep in less than ten minutes.

Come next day James got up early and went through his regular exercise routine before cleaning up and heading to the lounge to see what was in store for him this time. When James got out of the elevator, he took a step forward and heard a voice growing louder and louder.

He did not react in time and paid the price for it when he was hit by something from his right, knocking him to the ground.

"Sorry, sorry", said the person on top of him. Judging by the sound of the voice, it was a girl.

"Can't…. breathe", gasped James

"Oh my bad", said the girl getting off him and quickly proceeded to pick him up.

"Sorry about that", said the girl bowing to him multiple times "I was running and accidentally lost a step and before I know it I bumped into you".

"I'm really sorry", she said again

"It's alright", said James rubbing his head. He took this moment to examine the girl. She was a young girl with pink hair and blue eyes. She wore a black sleeveless shirt on top of which was a green dress with a pair of pockets, a black glove on her left hand and two wrist bands. She also sported a pair of leggings with white boots and belts.

With the exception of Kota and Hibrai, this girl was the only other person that looked the same age as he did. Other than that, she did look pretty which made James somewhat self-conscious.

"Hmm, I never seen you before", she said examining him "Ah you must be the new guy that joined us."

Before James could say anything, the girl grabbed his hand and began shaking it vigorously "My name is Kanon Daiba and I'm a first generation god eater. My primary weapon is the cannon and my birthday is February 28th."

"James Castor, pleasure to meet you", he said trying not to get dizzy.

"Well it's great to meet you James and I hope we get along well", she said with a big smile as Lindow got off the elevator.

"How is it that whenever I see you, you're always talking to some girl?" he asked with a raised eyebrow while striding in.

Realizing what was being implied, James went wide eyed then turned back to Kanon and said "No, no that isn't… it's not what you think. I'm new here so…"

"Oh relax rook I'm messing with you", he laughed out loud and hit James hard on his back and making the teen stumble forward a little bit.

"Well if you don't mind Lindow I'm heading to meet the rest of my squad", said Kanon then turned and bowed to James before going into the elevator.

"Wow", said James when she was gone then rubbed his temples "The girl's definitely something else".

"You get used to it rook. Now you'll be heading out to provide support for a team already there. Get your gear and get going alright?"

James simply nodded and headed to helipad. He got his god arc, got on the helicopter and in seconds he was in the air, heading to a place called the sunken grid.

Back when humans were at the top, the grid was a hydroelectric power plant that would provide clean energy for entire cities.

Now it's simply a relic of a time gone by. A monument to what humans could accomplish.

James got off the copter then surveyed the area a little bit in an effort to find the team. Soon enough he spotted a male with pale white skin and spiky red hair. He had tattoos on his chest, shoulder and back. He wore a cherry vest with arm warmers, black nickers with two red pockets and brown laced boots.

He leapt off the building then ran towards the teenager. When he was close enough, he called out to the guy who turned around.

"Oh you're here", he said raising his eyebrow and possibly giving him a condescending look. It was hard to tell as the guy wore a pair of tinted sunglasses "I didn't think we need that much help because with me here victory is assured".

"I'm Eric. Eric der Vogelweid, remember my name because soon enough I will be the greatest god eater in the whole world", declared the guy (known as Eric) "Second generation god eaters like yourself are nothing compared to my awesome self."

James nearly said something but he noticed an ogretail leaping towards them. He opened his mouth to try and shout but it was too late. The ogretail descended upon Eric, dispatching him instantly.

Startled and shocked by this, James did not move a muscle. The ogretail only now noticed him, getting ready to attack but it was hit by the sudden emergence of a blade that made contact with it's face.

James noticed that he was saved by a dark skinned young man with platinum blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The teen wore a dark blue hoodie, underneath was a half tucked yellow shirt and a black tie. He also sported black cargo pants that had a chain on the side and blue boots to complete his look.

When he was sure the aragami was dispatched, he turned around and scoffed while drawing closer to James. His right arm swung out and drove itself into James' face, knocking him into the ground.

"Let this be your one and only warning kid", said the teen staring daggers at James "If you're off your game for even a second it's game over."

"Wh… what about the mission?"

"Tch I took care of that, I don't need some newbies help", he hissed then called for the helicopter.

After having a relatively normal day, taking down a couple of troublesome aragami, Lindow was eager to head back to the base for some much needed down time. He had been spending the past few nights catching up on his paperwork because he accidentally let it pile up the past few days until Tsubaki finally tore his ear off.

He got off the copter, then saw James standing by the elevator with a solemn look on his face.

"Hey rook what's going on?" he asked and James simply nodded towards a body bag that was placed on the bench beside him.

Lindow's eyes opened wide in shock when he looked at the bag. He turned back to James and asked with a slightly raised voice "Who is it? Who died?"

"His name was Eric", replied the rookie and Lindow could not help feeling relieved.

"Eric Vogelweid", said Lindow looking up "He was a little rough around the edges but… a good fighter at the end of the day".

"You knew him?"

"We went on a few missions together", he replied then covered his face "Damn… I guess that's a reminder that anyone of us could die at any moment".

James simply nodded. Lindow realized that now was not the time to remind him of such obvious things. So he left his god arc then stood beside James on the helipad.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"Figured you could use some company", replied the veteran as he put a lit cigarette in his mouth.

It did not take long for the helipad to return and this time an adult in a suit came out. He took a few steps forward then lowered his head. Lindow recognized the man as Eric's father.

"I take it you were the one that witnessed my son's death?" he asked

"Yes", nodded James. He turned back and carried the body bag then handed it to one of the soldiers on the copter.

"Thank you", said the old man, holding James' left hand with both hands. It did not surprise either of them that his hands were trembling furiously, evident of a father who just lost his son.

None of them wanted to say anything that would prolong things any further. So instead all they did was remain silent while Mr. Vogelweid got back into the copter and flew away.

"Come on", said Lindow turning around then pulled James back with him.

"Where are we going?" he asked

"We're getting a drink of course", he replied mentally noting that James did not object to it.

Lindow's room reminded him of an old bar he would frequent with his other team. The lighting was pretty dim, the music was some jazz that was too soft to discern and the mood was heavy.

Now in his room, James fell to one of the sofas while Lindow headed to the fridge and returned back with two glasses of beer. He handed one to James then sat on the chair and for the first few minutes, neither of them said a word.

"The first person I saw die was a guy by the name of Victor Klump. Guy spent most of his time learning and training in Brazil. Scores were great too and people thought he was going to be a legend. But once he was on his first mission, he fell to pieces in a matter of seconds. Because of that a Vajra spotted this and immediately capitalized on the moment, killing him with one single strike".

"That was when I realised something important", he said pausing to make sure that his drinking partner was still listening "Life can be pretty cruel sometimes. It doesn't matter if you're rick, poor, smart or a total moron; when it's your time to go it's your time to go".

"Which is why I've lived by three orders and I expect you to do the same", he added

"Care to tell me what they are?" James asked looking at his nearly finished glass.

"Three orders; don't die. IF your numbers up, then get right out and lastly hide. Sometimes you get lucky and get the enemy off guard. That time you should take the chance and blast it… wait was that 4?"

"I think so but who's counting?"

"Anyway you get the gist of it right?" he asked "I can't have any more comrades dying on me James".

The teenager simply nodded in agreement. The team that he was used to consisted of experts and heavy hitters, he had forgotten how cruel the battlefield can be. People that you once know and considered a friend could be dead the very next day.

The more he thought about it, the more he thought about the people that he just met and could not allow anything to happen to them. The thought that they could die was not something he ever wanted to happen. Because of that, James made a silent vow to himself that he would not allow anyone else to share the same fate as Eric.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: have no ownership of the God Eater franchise but do have control over the OC's.

Trial by Cannon

"And that's how I was spending the past few days", said Kota falling on the sofa while James sat on the chair with a tablet on the arm rest.

It was well past hours and by luck the two of them happened to be awake at the time. Hibari had already gone to sleep but James stayed up longer to do some more reading. It was here that Kota was strolling through the base when he spotted his friend and decided it was time for them to catch up.

"I've been going on missions with Sakuya and Lindow for the past few days", said James tilting his head back

"What's it like working with the two of them?" he asked.

It was now that James remembered, the reason why Kota was not allowed to go out that much was because he had barely done any of his work and did not submit many of his reports on time. Thanks to this, Tsubaki cornered him and made sure that he finished his work before the week came to a close.

"Not all that bad", he replied casually "Of course it's pretty easy to see why those guys are so good at their job. Hey by the way, have you finished all your work?"

"Yep", he replied with a fist to his chest in triumph "I'm finally cleared to go for a mission".

"Good, then tomorrow we're going to team up".

"OH yeah", he shouted sounding fired up "Just you see buddy, pretty soon the two of us are going to be just as great as Lindow and Sakuya are. The heroic legend of Kota and James begins today".

"Actually we can't go out on a mission today. We'll be going tomorrow"

"Aw come on James don't dampen my spirits like that", whined Kota

"The two of them went on a mission without supervision?" repeated Sakuya in surprise after hearing Hibari's reply.

"Yeah, it was a relatively normal mission for the two of them. They can handle it easily", said Hibari.

"Even still there could be all kinds of things that they are not prepared for", she objected.

"There's nothing wrong with letting the two of them do their own thing", interjected Lindow

"Figured you would have no problem with that", huffed Sakuya putting her arms on her hips "How are you so sure about the two of them?"

"James is very level headed and is good as an all-rounder. And I've seen Kota in the training room a couple of times. He may sound a little immature but he's not the type to buckle under pressure", he replied.

Sakuya wanted to object but they heard the sound of the elevator opening followed by a voice shouting "That's right ladies and gentlemen the heroes are back".

She went up to see Kota standing by the sofa with his chest pointed out and a triumphant look on his face. Behind him was James looking calm and collected as usual.

"I wouldn't go that far", said James "We were just dealing with some ogretails and cocoon maidens".

"Yeah but this time it was only us backing each other up"

"How did the mission go you guys?" asked Sakuya sounding visibly concerned

"Not a scratch", said Kota turning on one foot "He did a damn fine job keeping my ass safe while I made sure no one caught him off guard".

"And together", he added while putting his arm around James to bring him close "We're an unstoppable duo that's sure to become legendary god eaters in the future".

"Now, now let's not get too hasty here", interjected Lindow coming up the stairs "Sure you guys did well on your own but this is the start. From here on out the fights are only going to get harder and harder."

"Bring it on", said James with a determined look

"We'll take on any aragami and send those things packing", added Kota.

"Well it sounds like the new recruits are getting used to things a lot faster", said an unfamiliar voice from behind.

The duo turned around to see Kanon with two other people beside her. One was a young adult male with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had on a red jacket with an orange t-shirt, white pants with stripes and black-red sneakers.

The other person was also a male around the same age but he had silver short spiked hair and blue eyes. The guy wore a blue jacket with a white t-shirt underneath and brown pants with knee guards and light brown boots to complete his look.

"Hi guys", said the one on the left "My name's Tatsumi O'Mori, this is Brendan Bardell and the girl in the centre is Kanon Daiba. Sorry for being so upfront about this but which one of you is James?"

"That would be me", said James raising his hand up"

"Great, I heard from the top brass that you'll be accompanying us on a mission today. Most likely to help you get used to the other teams", said Tatsumi "Which means that you're Kota. You'll be working with Karel's team today".

"Uh, how many teams are there in the far east?" asked Kota raising his hand up.

"You know you don't have to do that if you want to ask a question", said Lindow shaking his head.

"The far east is made up of three teams. First is the retaliation unit which is made up of Lindow, Soma and myself. The 2nd is the defence unit made up of Brendan, Tatsumi and Kanon and the third which is the recon unit is made up of Shun, Karel and Gina", stated Sakuya "Though those are the official designations team members can be switched out depending on the mission".

"So if I wanted to, I could compose a team with members from each unit?" asked James

"Yes, everyone here are well seasoned God eaters so they're used to all kinds of situations", replied Sakuya.

"Well now that we've got that out of the way, how's about we get started on that mission?" asked Tatsumi and James nodded in agreement.

With that the four of them went into the elevator then left. A silence momentarily filled the room before Lindow spoke up "You think he's going to be okay?"

"Well James is a good soldier and all…" replied Sakuya scratching her chin nervously "But then again…"

"What's going on guys is James in any trouble?" asked Kota not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

The sound of the elevator indicated that they had returned. Sakuya, Lindow and Kota all got up from the sofa, wondering the results.

The first two who stepped out into the lounge was Brendan and Tatsumi. Tatsumi turned back a little and said "Sorry about that James, we should have warned you in the first place".

"So that means…" said Kota

"Yep," said Brendan nodding solemnly. The two of them moved aside for Kanon to carry a very dishevelled James onto one the sofas. Sakuya, Lindow and Kota all saw that besides a few scratches and a bad hair day, some of his clothes were torn up.

"I'm really sorry James", she said putting her hands together "I shouldn't have shot like that…"

"It's alright", said James coughing up a little smoke "I should have been a bit more careful".

"As the leader of the mission it's my fault for not informing you about who you'd be working with", declared Tatsumi "I am truly sorry for Kanon's actions on the battlefield today."

"Don't sweat it too much Tatsumi", countered James trying to get his hairstyle back.

"You sure you don't need anything?" asked Brendan and James nodded "Well then we should give our report".

"I'm really sorry James", said Kanon once again "I promise I'll make it up to you".

James simply nodded to her as she left. When she was gone though, he curled into a ball while muttering "the horror" under his breath.

"How many times did she hit you?" asked Sakuya sitting beside him

"Twenty times", he cried out.

"Yikes that has to be a record", said Lindow gingerly.

"What's up with her huh?" asked James uncurling and returning to his normal position "She knew I was there and she still kept shooting".

"Well that's one of Kanon's problems", replied Lindow "She's a good god eater don't get me wrong but the girl can get a little over zealous".

"A little?" shouted James

"Ok, ok plenty overzealous", said Sakuya trying to calm him down "Out of everyone here she's got the highest friendly fire rate in all of Fenrir".

"Unofficially we've all gotten used to her style but officially speaking because of her friendly fire rate she hasn't been able to get any promotions or commendations", added Lindow

"We're not trying to make any excuses for her or anything", added Sakuya "We just thought it was important that you know everything about her".

"Hmmm…", said James rubbing his chin a little "Highest friendly fire rate…. She got any family?"

"She has a mom I'm sure about that and I think she has a sister but I'm not so sure about that", replied Lindow trying to collect his thoughts.

"Alright then", said James hopping off the sofa like a man who just got his second wind "I think I have an idea on how to take care of Kanon's quirk while getting something out of it in the process".

As if that statement wasn't weird enough, James followed it up with a low evil laugh while he headed to his room.

"Should we be worried?" asked Sakuya looking in his direction.

"Definitely", said Kota taking a gulp.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: have no ownership of the God Eater franchise but do have control over the OC's.

Hard work pays off

Although brief, in the time they knew him James had always come off as a calm and collected person. He always seemed to be in control of the situation no matter what happened.

So it worried them that the over the next couple of days, James spent more and more time in the training room. Though he was able to balance going out on regular missions, when he got back he would head to the training room and would only come out to either eat or sleep.

This continued on for a week till one Monday morning James received a mail from Tsubaki that he would be hunting a kongou on today's mission and this would be the first time he'd get to choose his own teammates.

A smile formed on his face as he wasted no time in cleaning up and heading to the lounge where he picked only one teammate for the mission.

"James are you sure about this?" asked Hibrai worriedly to him "Having more teammates makes the mission easier".

"Oh no, in this case it might cause me a little trouble with what I've got planned", he said with a grin "Trust me for this mission I only need one other person".

After half an hour had passed, James noticed the elevator door open and out came Kanon.

"Kanon", he said like a wolf then ran up the stairs and quickly held her hands "You up for a mission?"

"Huh?" she asked surprised "Are we both going on a mission?"

"Yep, yep just the two of us", he replied with a nod

"But what happened last time", she said lowering her head.

"That's why I want you to come with me. Trust me you're not going to regret it".

Seeing as she could not object, Kanon nodded in agreement and after a few minutes, she and James had God arc in hand, heading to the mission area which was a snow covered temple this time.

"Do you have any plans you want to go through with me?" she asked as the got off the helicopter.

"Nope, just the usual stuff. Hit them as much as you like and don't worry about anything else", he replied.

It did not take long for them to run into the Kongou or in this case for it to run into them. The aragami attacked with a cannonball roll and the two split up to dodge the attack. Now that the fight was underway, Kanon attacked with a barrage of fire from her gun while James drew in close then thrust his spear multiple times at its hands and face.

Kanon ran around the aragami while it was occupied, the intention being of shooting at one of the weaker points which was its head or its pipes on its back. She saw James pretty much dancing around the Kongou, attacking it with the front and the base of his spear, making it nearly impossible for the aragami to counter.

She could clearly see James but her instincts and desire took over. She pressed the trigger on her gun and fired a shot at her target with James in the middle. The bullet would have hit James but at the last moment he held his spear to his left, charged it up and released that power, thus tossing him to the side, completely surprising the Kongou which made it easier for Kanon's bullet to find its mark.

"What the?" said Kanon honestly surprised by this but shook her head. She focused back on her mission and fired multiple shots from her god arc this time. Any one of them could have hit James but at the last possible second he was able to dodge every single one of them so that they'd hit the aragami and not him.

With another swing of his spear, he broke the bonds on the Kongou's face and it staggered back while covering the newly created wound.

"Kanon fire now", he barked out and she complied. It didn't matter that James stood directly in her path but she pressed the trigger on her gun and fired at him. At the last possible second, James leapt up over the Kongou while the bullet hit it in its already wounded face. This caused it to stagger back and lower its guard for a moment.

In that span of time, James charged his spear long enough that when it was released, he shot down like a bullet and destroyed the cannon it had on its back then landed behind it.

What James did not anticipate was this action severely angered the Kongou and it immediately came forward about to attack with one of its fists. Kanon had no time to react to this and was about to get launched into the air but at the last moment, she saw James appear by her side and deployed his shield parrying the Kongou's attack.

"Kanon, fire, fire, fire; do it now", he barked out and the girl was immediately snapped out of her daze. She immediately hoisted her gun up and fired a bullet right at the aragami's face. The bullet made its mark on the Kongou's face giving James the chance he needed. Wasting no time he flung his spear straight at the aragami, embedding it in it's face.

Kanon watched in surprise as James ran up the Kongou then leapt off the spears shaft, yanked his spear out of the Kongou's face and in the air he spun around to lop the Kongou's head clean off its shoulders.

The aragami landed on the ground, James landed before Kanon and turned around resting the spear on his back.

"And that's another win for us", he said triumphantly.

"So how bad was it?" asked Lindow to James when he got off the elevator "How many shots did you take?"

"Zero", he said happily while taking a seat on the sofa

"Huh?" he asked wanting to hear more.

"It's true", said Kanon getting off the elevator "I was trying my best not to hit him but whenever I accidentally did shoot, he was able to dodge".

Lindow looked at James like he was a ghost

"James how were you able to do that?" she asked.

"It was a trick that I've been working on the past couple of days", he replied

"Is that why you've been spending all that time in the training room?" asked Lindow and James simply nodded in confirmation.

"Now that I've perfected the trick we're going to go on more missions together Kanon", he added

"EH?" said the girl and Lindow equally surprised

"With this, we can get your friendly fire rate down substantially which in turn makes you look good for the top brass", continued James.

"So you did this all for me?"

"Well, I did get something out of this in the bargain as well so I'd think of this as a win-win", he replied calmly

"I never thought I'd see the day", said Lindow sounding amused "I can't imagine how Sakuya's going to react when I tell her this."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Four man deck

The news spread pretty quickly around the base. It surprised everyone that the new recruit of all people was able to go on a mission with Kanon and not get hit by a single one of her shots. James would also bring Kota along on some missions because he too was a gunner so the risk of him getting hit was substantially less.

Thanks to his efforts, Kanon's FF rate went down steadily over the next few weeks while James was able to complete more and more missions.

"Ah there you are", said Kanon with a smile when James got out of the elevator that lead to everyone's rooms.

James was surprised to see Kanon coming towards him carrying a plate of cookies in her hand.

"Huh?" he asked tilting his head "What are these for?"

"This is one half of my thank you for helping me out these past few weeks", she said extending the plate to him "Pretty please try it."

James hesitantly looked at the plate then looked at Kanon's pleading eyes. As much as he wanted to play it safe, there's no way he could turn her down. He carefully took one of the baked treats and tasted only a very small portion of the cookie.

Kanon watched him chew the food for a little while and was stunned when James' legs suddenly shook and he nearly fell down.

"What happened is it bad?" she asked worriedly

"Are you kidding?" he cried out while shooting up like a man possessed "This is the best thing I've had all day, scratch that the best cookies I've ever had in my life. The flour, the butter, the salt and sugar, the chocolate the cooking, the rough outside and soft inside…. Oh man this stuff is amazing".

"You're an incredible cook Kanon", he said with tears practically rolling down his cheeks.

"Ah, well it's because I've been practicing so hard", she said looking away trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Good morning rook", called out Lindow coming out of the elevator waving to him.

"Well I guess I should also get going", said Kanon "Tatsumi and Brendan's got pretty fired up after hearing you were able to avoid all my shots so they're trying to mimic what you're doing."

"See you later James", she said then proceeded to gently kiss James on his cheek before leaving. The veteran God eater watched the rookie's eyes go wide eyed in shock and surprise while his face turned a bright beet red.

"Didn't know you were such a charmer James", he said nudging him in the elbow playfully.

"N-N-No way, you must be joking here. I-I-I-I'm definitely not that kind of person", stuttered James still beet red.

"Relax James I'm just playing with you", said the veteran god eater playfully hitting James on the back.

"Oh what's going on here?" asked Sakuya upon entering the lounge and seeing the guys.

"I just learned about James…"

"You heard nothing", shouted James and completely derailed the conversation.

"Well that aside congratulations James on managing to lower Kanon's FF rate to fifty percent", said Sakuya patting him on the shoulder "I was worried about what to do for that girl but could never come up with anything concrete".

"No big deal", he said waving offhanded.

"So what were we called here for?"

"Hmm?"

"Right I remembered getting a mail on my account asking me to come to the lounge in the morning", said Lindow.

"Now that I think about it, I remember getting one too", said James "Wasn't the mail from Kota?"

"That's right", smacking her fist on the palm of her hand "What did he call us out for?"

"I'm glad you asked", said the person in question slowly making his way up the staircase to where the rest of the team had gathered.

"Today we're going on our first ever tough mission", said the teenager upon reaching the landing.

"What do you mean?" asked James

"We're taking on a triumvirate", he replied

"Oh wow, the director okayed this?" asked Lindow

"He said that as long as we have two experienced god eaters with us then there shouldn't be a problem", replied Kota

"What's triumvirate?" asked James

"That's the unofficial name given to the Kongou, Quadriga and Chi-you", replied Sakuya "They're the most dangerous among the lower tier aragami. Above them are the Gboros and Borg Camlann which are problematic because one specializes in long range attacks while the other is dangerous to face in close quarters".

"I have two more bit of good news as well", added Kota showing two fingers "The first one is that the director said either James or I could lead the team on this mission. The other good news is that later in the day we're going to get a new recruit joining us".

"Really?" said Lindow wide eyed "I didn't know that".

"Probably because you never read any of the mail Tsubaki sends you", said Sakuya

"I do too", objected the veteran causing James to let out a little laugh.

"That aside, it would be nice to no longer be the new meat here", said James "That way I don't need to be called 'rook' anymore".

"It's not going to be that easy buddy", corrected Lindow "I'll stop calling you rook till I'm sure that you can handle yourself on your own".

"Well team let's get going and let's go tear those aragami a new one".

"And while we're going there you can tell us why James' face was so red when I got here", added Sakuya

"Oh did something happen to you buddy?" asked Kota sounding concerned

"James was getting his reward for being such a good guy", joked Lindow rubbing his chin.

"Ahhh let's just get going already", shouted James and headed to the elevator first.

"Early reports indicate that the aragami are in separate locations which work well for us", said James to them at the landing zone "The plan we're going here is to take out the two that have good hearing which is the tank and the monkey."

"We'll split into two teams, Sakuya and Lindow will take the monkey while Kota and I take the tank. Once we finish our respective missions we converge on the bird from both sides and take the thing down. If at any point you run into the bird your objective is to toss a flashbang and head to the other team's location."

"While the goal of the mission is to eliminate all hostiles, let's all try to finish this with as little trouble as possible. Any questions?"

"I'd like to add my two cents here", said Sakuya "I think that instead of Kota backing you up, it should be me, while Lindow teams with Kota".

"You sure about that Sakuya?" asked Kota.

"I second the idea", said Lindow

"Then the change is made, now let's get going gang", declared James. The trio nodded, grabbed their weapons then headed out.

When the two of them were close enough, James and Sakuya both unleashed a steady stream of fire on the enemy, getting it's attention. The tank started its attack with a missile barrage which the two easily dodged.

James drew in closer then leapt up to attack with a flurry of strikes to one of the missile pods. The tank turned around just as James landed and fumbled forward. James fell flat on the ground, making use of the small space between it's body and the ground to avoid the tank altogether.

When it got up, it was rewarded by a shot to the face from Sakuya which staggered it. James smiled at her, silently thanking her for the opening then ran forward. He leapt up one of the aragami's treads then jumped up and attacked the 'crown' on top of its head multiple times before hitting the ground.

Unfortunately for James when he landed, the chest of the tank opened up and fired three large missiles aimed at James. The rookie turned around and ran as quickly as he could from the missiles to try and get some distance but the missiles were faster. He was able to read the expression on Sakuya's face and understood how close they were so acting on instinct he jumped back then twisted his body in the air, narrowly avoiding the trio of projectiles.

'Seriously?' thought Sakuya on seeing this 'He dodged all of them… all three of them without even looking? Is this kid even human?'

James turned around and ran towards the aragami all the while charging his spear. He waited till he was a few centimetres away from the target's chest then unleashed the spear and thrust forward. The spear hit the tank on the chest but only did enough to produce a small crack.

"Sakuya aim for the centre while I take down the pods", he called out and the sniper nodded in agreement. James leapt up and thrust his spear, this time breaking one of the missile pods on the right. He landed on the back of the tank and started swinging out wildly. The tank rose to two feet trying to throw James off but he held on as tight as possible.

When it went back on all fours, James was about to attack with another swing but was hit from behind by an unseen attack. James hit the ground then bounced back a couple of times before skidding to a halt. Sakuya immediately ran towards him and picked him up.

"You okay?" she asked

"Little winded but I'm good", he replied rubbing his head "What the hell attacked me?"

The two of them looked in the direction of the attack and much to their dismay, they found that the tank was no longer alone. The bird slowly made it's way to the battlefield, levelling out the numbers while also making things difficult for the sniper and spear user.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

New Recruit

"Are they still on us?" she asked turning back to James

"Keep running even if your legs give out", replied James not taking the time to check if they were being pursued.

Once their plan fell down the drain, Sakuya and James resorted to their escape plan and immediately tossed a couple of flash grenades towards their targets. This gave them the second they needed to launch a hasty retreat.

While on their way, they got in touch with Lindow and Kota. Luckily they were able to take care of their target which was a relief in a few ways.

"So what's our plan now?" asked Lindow

"The tank's damaged in the chest so a little more fire and we can crack that open. One of the missile pods are still left so we need to be careful about that", replied James "The problem right now is dealing with the bird which is still pretty fresh in the fight."

"I've read enough reports to know that because of its small size, the aragami's pretty nimble and can launch an array of attacks. Is that true?" asked Kota

"Sadly yes", said Sakuya "Even for veterans like us, the Chi-You can be pretty troublesome for us".

"I think I have a way of dealing with the tank", said James looking at Kota "I'll need your help with that. Can I rely on you two to take care of the bird?"

"Sure we can handle it", said Lindow turning to Sakuya and the woman nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we'll be fighting in point J which is a pretty open area. We may be able to separate them but keep your heads on a swivel team, stay sharp, stay focused and we will make it out of this alive", added James

"Are we clear on the mission?" he asked and the team nodded in agreement. The four of them stood up then left their hiding spot.

"So what did you mean when you said you needed my help in taking out the tank?" asked Kota to James

"When the time comes I'll signal you", replied James "Once that happens I need you to concentrate your fire at the base of the spear and hit it as many times as you can".

Kota stopped in his tracks for a moment then asked him "James what are you planning?"

"Something crazy", he replied casually then stopped. He motioned to Kota to stay his ground while he looked out. He turned back and gestured that their prey was making its way towards them.

The two were about to attack when they heard a crashing noise from behind. They turned to see Lindow and Sakuya leaving the church being chased by the bird. The tank saw this then chased after them but James was not about to let that happen.

He broke from cover, converting his spear into a rifle and fired shot after shot hitting the tank on the head and forcing it to turn around. Its missile pod opened, attacking with a few projectiles but James easily moved to the right and dodged it. The tank tried to charge him but a few shots from the side prevented that.

James drew in close then threw a paralysis trap on the right tread, preventing the tank from moving. With that done, he jumped up using the tread as a foothold then got onto the tank's back. Here he made quick work of the missile pod.

He jumped off and noticed the bird knocking Lindow into the air. When he landed, James switched to gun mode and fired at the bird a couple of times. The bird turned focus to James leaping up and swooping down with its wings wide open, trying to land the same attack it did on Lindow.

James stood his ground till the aragami was close enough. As it drew closer, he charged his spear and waited for the right moment.

"James", shouted Kota

When the bird was close enough, James leapt into the air then thrust it's spear down, driving it through the back of the bird. If that wasn't enough he released the energy in his spear, allowing him to flip forward and throw the Chi you right into the tanks chest.

"Lindow", shouted James and the veteran quickly revved up the chainsaw on his blade. He drew close enough, attacking with a left swing, the teeth of his sword making a nice big wound on the bird's chest.

"Nice", commented James then turned to Kota "Get ready". He said

Kota was stunned when he saw James throw his spear like a javelin player at the Olympics. The spear darted through the battlefield like a bullet aimed at the chest of the aragami.

The gunner snapped out of his daze and realized what James was doing. He stared through the scope of his gun, took a deep breath and fired a barrage of bullets aimed at the spear tip. The bullets were able to hit the target, effectively increasing the speed of the spear so that it went through the bird's chest but not enough that it went out the other side.

"Throw me", shouted James running to Lindow.

He was initially confused by the order but nonetheless complied. Lindow presented the flat side of his sword to James who leapt up and landed on the sword. Wasting no time, Lindow spun around then launched James towards the target.

In the air, James positioned himself to deliver a drop kick to his spear. He was able to kick the spear a little bit further through it even then it was not enough.

He turned around finding the sniper who was already in position. James simply needed to move out of the way, allowing Sakuya to fire a single bullet that cut through the air at rapid speeds and hit the spear, propelling it through and through both Aragami.

James hit the ground with a thud then turned around in time to see the bird and tank let out one last attack of desperation before collapsing to the ground in defeat.

"WOOOOOO", shouted James with his fists up and ran around in circles for a couple times.

"Holy crap did you see that", said Kota "I can't believe that we were able to pull that one off, that was so majorly crazy awesome".

"Yeah that was a surprise", nodded Lindow in agreement "How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't really", replied James stopping "It was something I thought of on the spur of the moment"

"Wait seriously?" asked Sakuya with her mouth hanging open "You honestly came up with that insane move on the fly?"

"Yep, yep", he replied "I guess we can close this mission as well".

"Ohhh I can't wait to head back home and see the new recruit", squealed Kota "I bet it's a girl, I hope it's a girl; oh please let it be a girl".

"First we need to get on the helicopter. We can worry about all those other details later on", said James.

"By the way", said Lindow "James aren't you forgetting something?"

James paused for a moment, then his eyes went wide with shock at the realization. "AHHHHH, I need to get my God arc back."

"You know I heard that the new recruit is also a second generation god eater like James", said Sakuya out loud".

"Well when the time comes I'm sure we're going to find out on our own", said Lindow with a huff "I don't know about you though but I'm beat. I'd like to go home now and finish the day off with a nice cold beer".

"You know something has been bothering me", said Sakuya

"What's wrong?"

"I can't really put it in words that well", replied the sniper "But when he spoke, I got the feeling that James has more experience in combat situations than he lets on. It almost feels like he's been a god eater for years now".

"My guess is because James has been hitting the books the whole time that he gave off that impression", suggested Kota putting his arms behind his head.

"What do you mean?" asked Lindow

"Whenever he's not going out on missions with the others, he's helping Hibari out with filing reports and learning up on every possible strategy that could be used in battle", explained Kota

"A couple of times when I came out to get a snack, I'd find him still in the lounge, looking through earlier combat videos, analysing everything and taking notes".

"Wow, I never knew someone who took their job that seriously", mused Sakuya.

"I think I know why", said Lindow but when the two looked at him for an explanation he simply said "I'll tell you about it later".

By that time James had returned with his God arc and the team headed back home.

When they reached the far east branch, they deposited their god arcs at the receptacles then headed down. Sakuya and Lindow decided to turn in a little early, while Kota and James waited for the new recruit to arrive.

They stayed on the sofa and talked a little more about random things before James asked to be excused as he had to take a bathroom break.

No sooner that he left, did Tsubaki emerge from the elevator.

"Hmm, where's lieutenant Castor?" she asked

"He had to take a little break", replied Kota and the boss understood the message

"Well either way, I think it's time to introduce our newest addition to the far east branch. She's a new type god eater like James but has scored in the ninety fifth percentile during the tests, which is much more than Castor scored during the exam".

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" suggested Tsubaki and the girl came out.

As that happened James also returned to the lounge room but when he noticed the girl, he was suddenly caught off guard that it caused him to lose his footing and fall down the stairs ending with Hibari yelping out in surprise from below.

"What the?" asked Tsubaki pausing for a moment, allowing James to come back up.

"Sorry about that", said James then turned to the railing and said "Sorry Hibari".

"Care to explain what happened?" asked the boss with her arms crossed

"I….", but words failed him so instead his eyes darted around the room, not wanting to make eye contact "I was day dreaming and lost my step".

Tsubaki let out a sigh to this then said "Well see that it doesn't happen again."

"That aside, it's time you two got to meet our newest god eater".

"My name is Alisa Llinichina Amiella but please call me Alisa", she said.

Alisa looked a few years older than James and had unkempt grey hair. She wore a beret, a black jacket that was too tight for her, evident by the fact that it only covered half her body and the zipper could only close halfway from up to down. She had a checkered red skirt, wore on black fingerless gloves with the left glove extending all the way to her elbow. She also wore on black thigh high length boots thus filling out her unique yet revealing choice of clothing.

"This is James Castor a new type like yourself and he'll show you the ropes", said Tsubaki pointing to James "And this is Kota Fujiki, a first generation god eater but new like yourself. I trust you all will get along".

"Yes ma'am", they said in unison and Tsubaki nodded to them then left.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Friction

Kota and James sat at the edge of the helipad, their legs hanging along the edge while the two of them gazed at the starry sky. Today started off high, took a nosedive in the middle and the two wanted to try and forget about their troubles.

"James do you ever think there's life on other planets?" asked Kota suddenly

"Sure I do buddy", replied James playing along.

"And you think that on one of those planets there's two aliens doing the same thing that we're doing?" he continued.

"Probably", he replied

"There you two are", called Sakuya from behind. She marched towards them with a frustrated expression on her face then crossed her arms and said "I can't believe you two are slacking off like this."

"We're not slacking off", objected James while Kota looked at the sky "I finished my mission reports and submitted them to Hibari. I also finished reading up on some trapping techniques and I helped Kota out with his homework before submitting it to Tsubaki".

"So wait", said the girl pausing for a moment "You two aren't putting anything off?"

"Nope", said Kota sitting upright "By the way… what's got you in such a tailspin?"

"Oh well… I met the new recruit", she replied

"Ah", said the two at the same time, giving her a bitter smile.

"She does seem a bit abrasive", said Sakuya trying to sound polite

"She's got the personality of a cactus with pine needles", interjected James with all the subtlety of a raging bull.

"James", she chided "That's now how you talk about your teammates".

"She talked Kota down because the dude said 'hi'… what kind of person does that?"

"Well your personal opinions aside you will need to try and get along with her James", Sakuya said insistently

"Why?" asked James narrowing his gaze. It seemed his superior was privy to information that he needed to know about.

"You've been progressing much faster than any of us anticipated and everyone you've gone on missions with has only said good things about you", said Sakuya nervously which worried James. Usually when someone praised you, it was because they wanted to soften the blow of what comes next.

"Johann, Dr. Sakaki and Tsubaki have been thinking about giving you your own team which will consist of Kota, Alisa and yourself", she said finally "They wanted it to be on a trial basis and see how you work under those conditions. If you do well they might make it permanent."

Though he was happy his work ethic and code of conduct was being well received by the others and that he was getting his own team, he did not like that Alisa would be part of it.

"James what are you doing?" asked the girl suddenly when she and Kota found him standing dangerously close to the edge of the helipad.

"Going for a swim without a parachute", he said and the two grabbed him by the belt and flung him back to the centre of the helipad.

"That's not a good reaction", chided the girl

"Well I'm not happy about it", said James "I am happy that I get a team and Kota's going to be on it…"

"Yay", said the teen

"I don't want that bossy cactus on my team".

"Boo", said Kota.

"Maybe she's just a little bit shy about being somewhere new", she suggested "I'm sure that in time she'll warm up to everyone here and how we do things".

As much as she was trying to see the positive side, the two youths gave her a very unconvinced stare.

After morning training and a bath, James headed to the lounge area. Upon coming down the stairs he greeted his only companion this early in the morning by saying "Good morning voice in my head".

"Good morning worker ant", she responded with a casual smile and wave.

Seeing as James would often spend his nights in the lounge either reading or finishing his reports, the only other person who'd be there was Hibari. The red head would also use this time to prepare for tomorrow. Eventually the two of them started helping each other out, which led to them now playfully calling each other by their most defining characteristic.

"So what's on the docket today? Do we get to slay some Kongou's take on a couple of Quadriga's or stick it to a Chi-You?" he asked resting his arm on the table.

"Actually this time you'll be going out with Lindow and help Alisa on her first mission", she replied and James' face fell instantly.

"You've got to be kidding me", he said nearly collapsing from disappointment "Have you even met the girl?"

"Alisa?" she asked and smiled gingerly "She's…"

"I swear if you try and make it sound like she's a little shy I will scream loud enough to wake everyone up", said James with his eye twitching.

"Well what do you want me to say? This is her first day here… you remember how you were on your first day".

"That isn't an excuse"

"Well after this, you can take Kota out on a few tougher missions. I hand-picked a few that I'm sure you both will enjoy", she said and his expression did an immediate turn around

"Thank you Hibari, I knew you weren't holding out on me", he said practically bouncing around "You're the best".

"Hey now", said Tatsumi sliding down the stair railing "James isn't it enough that you've got Kanon, now you're trying your luck with my Hibari?" he asked feigning hurt

"*ahem I am not your anything Tastumi… except your operator", interjected the girl

"I'm not doing anything weird with her", said James "This is how we normally talk these days".

"It's true", she said nodding in agreement "James and I have gotten pretty close because he spends so much time studying… unlike other people I know".

"James I thought you were my friend", cried Tatsumi making fake tears come out of his while he grabbed James by his shoulders and shook him from side to side.

"There you are", said an unfamiliar voice, stopping the drama that was going on. James had to mentally slap himself when he noticed Alisa looking down at them and was relieved to see her.

"Did you cause some trouble?" she asked looking at James.

"No", said Tatsumi returning to normal and releasing his grasp on James.

"James… right", she said coming down the stairs. He didn't like how condescending she sounded when she said his name "I was told to report to you."

"Is that so?" asked Hibari

"The higher ups are thinking of giving me my own team", replied James with an expression that betrayed how much of an honour this was "And yeah today you're going out on a mission with Lindow and I. We're going to test how well you do in the field".

"As you already know I scored way above you in the tests so I'm sure that I can handle myself", said Alia in a matter of fact way.

"That and this are two very different things. You were in a controlled environment before which isn't the same out there".

"Don't worry, no matter the situation I can handle myself fine. Once I've proven myself I'll get my own time twice as faster than you did", she said smugly then headed back upstairs while flicking her hair.

James waited till she was out of earshot then turned to Tatsumi and said "If you help me get rid of her I promise to make Hibari fall in love with you".

The proposition seemingly caught Tatsumi off guard as he turned to James wide-eyed, clearly looking like he was about to say yes.

"Don't you dare James", shouted the red head and threw a coffee mug at the white haired teen.

'Why do I get the feeling something happened before I woke up?' thought Lindow when he sensed the heavy atmosphere in the helicopter.

For some reason, James and Alisa did not exchange a single word with each other and his attempt at making conversation was met with a cold silence.

'Well at least in this mission they don't have to worry about working together', he thought.

The mission was fairly simple. All they had to do was take out a few ogretails. A standard mission for James, a cakewalk for Lindow but the first mission for Alisa, the two of them wanted to see how well she performed in a real life scenario against the Aragami.

"So let's get down to the most important rules that I have lived by", declared Lindow when they touched down "The first one…"

"Hold", said the girl "Does this rule have anything to do with the mission?"

"I think it has importance in life", he replied

"Then it doesn't matter", she said dismissively "If it has nothing to do with the mission we're only wasting time here with idle chit char. Let's just go already".

Before either of them could say anything else, Alisa leapt off the hiding spot and into the mission area.

"I'm not at fault if anything happens to her", said James leaping after her.

"Yes you are", shouted the Veteran chasing after him

"Look James I know the girl hasn't made a good first impression on anyone here", said Lindow walking alongside James "But that's mostly because she's feeling hesitant and possibly shy around all these new faces."

"Uh-huh", said James clearly not believing anything his superior was telling him

"Which is why I'm giving you the job of helping her fit in", he declared and the shout that James stared at him like a deer in head lights

"This better be a joke old man", he warned

"The girl's got some skeletons in the closet, who doesn't in this day and age. She probably lived her whole life thinking that if she confided in others, they'd see her as weak or lesser than them so she internalized all her grief. I want you to help her understand that that's not how we do things here and that it's okay to rely on others".

"But why me?" he whined "Can't you ask someone else to do it?"

As much as Lindow wanted to give him an honest answer, he simply smiled and said "Because I know you're going to do it".

James simply growled as a response then the two of them heard an ogretail roaring. They headed to the location of the sound and found Alisa thrusting her sword through one target while another drew close.

Lindow wanted to react but James was faster. He dug into his jacket then throw an object out that darted through the air and hit the aragami in the eye. The ogretail turned to James about to attack but Alisa lopped its head off.

"What was that?" he asked

James opened his mouth but Alisa shouted "What are you doing interfering?" then stomped towards the duo.

"That thing was about to attack you, I was distracting it for a moment", he replied ignoring Lindow's question

"I could have handled it myself", barked the girl

"I'll make sure to put that on your tombstone, Alisa: she thought she could handle it", snapped James and received a chop on the head from Lindow

"What was that for?" he protested

"Jokes are fun and all but don't make light about dying", said Lindow in an oddly serious voice which was noticed by the two. They ceased all hostilities and quietly waited for the helicopter to return

'I'm never bringing her on another mission', thought James

"Tch, that guys only going to slow me down', thought Alisa.

'I'll need an extra beer tonight', thought Lindow in between the two


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Clash

Now that he was done with that annoying mission, James headed straight back to the lounge and got his next mission from Hibari. For this mission, they needed to wipe out a few Gboro-Gboro's in the place with the tornado. His first and obvious pick was Kota and his second was Gina Dickinson. He had been on a few missions with Shun, Karel and Gina and was able to understand how the former two operated but had a tough time pegging Gina. The girl got along well with Kanon which meant that she was a sociable type but James wanted to know more about her than just that.

"Don't you think you should take a break before heading out on another mission?" asked Hibari once the team was set.

"Nope, I want to wash away that terrible feeling of the last mission as fast as possible", replied James. It did not take too long for Kota to come to the lounge. The two of them greeted each other and right after him came Gina.

"I heard that we'll be working together on this mission again James", said the sniper with a calming smile that for some reason scared the two boys. While James did his best to hide it, Kota immediately yelped when he saw her.

"This will be a good time to judge your character. I wonder if you're going to be a predator or a prey", she said vaguely then walked away to the other elevator.

"Dude I'm getting goosebumps and not the good kind", said Kota stepping out from behind James.

"She sounds fun", mused James ignoring how scared his teammate was. Kota simply had to grit his teeth when he noticed his words fell on deaf ears and the two headed up the stair case. Once they reached the top, they saw Alisa who took only a few seconds to understand what's going on.

"You're going out on another mission?" she asked sounding surprised

"Yep, Kota, Gina and I are going to cause some more trouble", he said plainly

"Then I'm coming with you", declared the girl

"No you're not", he countered dismissively

"I was told to shadow you till I've learned enough".

"Then you don't need to shadow me because you said yourself that you're better than me", he said mockingly then left with Kota.

The two met up with Gina on the helipad. All three of them were armed and James carried with him a few extra accessories in case the moment called for it.

"HEYYY", called out a voice from behind and James immediately felt a cold sweat run down his spine. He turned around and much to his dismay saw Alisa coming towards them with God arc in hand.

"What the hell is going on?" barked James and marched towards her "I thought I told you that you're not allowed on a mission with us".

"I was lucky enough to meet the director on my way here and he gave me special permission to accompany you on the mission", she stated then walked past him while the helicopter came down.

"James?" asked Kota but the leader of the team said nothing in response.

"Rules of engagement are pretty simple two of them four of us", said James when they arrived "Gina and I are on one team, Kota and Alisa on the other."

"Kota you're the superior of the two so you'll be in charge", he added then turned to Gina "You want to be in charge of our team?"

"I don't like being in the spotlight James", she said smiling politely once again "You're in charge just make sure you put on a good show for me".

"Sure", said James happily but felt a little nervous for no apparent reason.

"Alright everyone heads on a swivel and stay frosty at all times", he declared "You see any kind of trouble send a signal flare and call for back up".

Alisa huffed in annoyance but James did his best to ignore it. With the plan made known, the teams headed off in their respective locations.

They found their targets and begun attacking. James made it a point to try and break the shiny teeth the fish had while Gina aimed for the gun atop its head. It opened its mouth, getting ready to chomp on James' head but the teenager immediately switched to his gun and let off a few fire blasts into its mouth. The fish staggered back and a sniper blast whizzed past James, knocking off the pipe that probably worked as a gun.

Now that it was short its long range weapon, the fish turned around and tried to run away but James was not in the mood for it. He dug into his jacket and threw out a paralysis trap. With its back turned, Gina wasted no time in firing a few shots at the less armoured portion of its body, causing streaks of blood to shoot out in multiple directions.

"Ahhh that paints a very pretty picture", declared Gina on the comm system and James swallowed hard.

The fish turned around in time to see James thrust his charged spear forward and shatter its teeth. The fish was staggered by this and James attacked with multiple spear thrusts to its underside, landing numerous wounds on the aragami's body. The fish opened its mouth again and tried to attack but this time James decided he wanted to end the mission quickly. He looked back and Gina understood what he was aiming for. She fired a fire infused bullet into its eye, partially blinding it. James took advantage of that opportunity by leaping over then thrusting his spear through the already wounded back of the fish.

Gina watched in delight as the spear tore through the fish's back and emerged the other side.

"Oh my such brutality", she said with a calm voice but her expression said the opposite.

"Mission complete", said James pressing his communicator.

"Not just yet", said Hibari "We're getting reports that a Vajra is in your mission area".

"Where is it?"

"Point N"

James turned around and froze when he saw Alisa coming towards them but could not see any sign of Kota. Flashes of Eric's demise went past his mind and his mind went into autopilot. James made a beeline towards the location Hibrai mentioned with Gina following close behind. The sniper understood why James was in a rush and also felt concerned.

They saw Kota flying in the air and the two of them immediately fired a pair of healing bullets towards the gunner. This was able to mitigate the damage that came from crashing into the ground but when James drew closer, he noticed a wound displayed on his chest. He grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the god arc.

"He's still breathing, probably suffering from the shock of such a wound", said Gina snapping him out of his daze.

"James!" barked the girl and the teenager turned around. As he did he was greeted by the Vajra which let out a fearsome roar to try and assert its dominance.

"Gina, contact Hibari and have them send the helicopter here quickly, he said taking a step forward "Could you do me another favour and keep an eye on Kota for me as well?"

"I'll do my best", she said looking at Kota then back to James.

The Vajra roared once more then created five orbs of lightning and fired them at James. He simply stood his ground till the orbs drew closer then swung his spear upwards, cutting the attack in two.

It was at this point he noticed Alisa coming towards him but he was not in the mood to deal with her. When she drew closer he simply turned to her then said "Stay out of my way".

"But.."

She could not finish her sentence because James now pointed his spear threateningly at her and said in a much colder and deadlier voice "Stay… out… of my … way".

All of a sudden rain started to pour and Alisa took a step back, for once listening to James. The teen turned back to the Vajra which attacked with a swipe of its left paw. James easily parried that with his spear then spun it vertically so that it landed a cut on the Vajra's face. James then twirled it around horizontally and landed a cut on its front legs, causing it to go onto the hind legs.

He was about to attack again when he felt a gust of wind coming from behind. He turned around and saw the helicopter had arrived. Gina had already grabbed Kota and placed him inside. Seeing as he no longer needed to prolong this fight, James lobbed a flash grenade at the Vajra and made a hasty retreat.

"Hibari, please prepare a medical unit for when we arrive", said James on the way back

"What happened?" she asked

"Kota sustained a couple of injuries", replied Gina instead of James "It doesn't look that bad but there could be internal injuries so we just want to be safe".

"Alright", she said and silence permeated on their way back.

When they got back Kota was placed on the stretcher and was immediately taken inside. James stood silently on the helipad while the rain continued to pour. Genuinely concerned for him, Gina stepped forward and said "I may not know him as well as you do but I do know that Kota is a pretty good and level headed god eater. I'm sure something like this won't get the better of him."

"Now come on before you catch a cold here", she said pulling him back inside.

"Thanks", he said with half a smile. When he got inside, Gina said something a little more reassuring then headed back to her room. When she was gone, James marched towards Alisa's room without hesitation and practically knocked the door down the way he knocked.

Alisa opened the door looking visibly annoyed for a moment but that expression faded when she saw how angry James looked.

"You, me, 30 minutes, training room", he said then closed the door.

Not wanting to see what happened if she did not show up at the appointed time, Alisa headed to the training room and found James standing in the centre of the room. This time he was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt with a black pair of track pants.

What neither of them knew was that everyone else from the far east had also gathered. They looked on from above wondering what was going to happen.

"You have any idea what's going on here?" asked Sakuya to Lindow

"I think I might but I don't want to comment", he replied with a weak laugh "By the way where's Soma?"

"Not sure", she replied with a shrug "I think he's gone out on another mission. You know he's never interested in these type of things."

"Hey guys", said Tatsumi looking less cheery than normal "I spoke to Gina and found out that Kota got injured during their last mission and it may or may not be Alisa's fault".

"Is he ok?" asked Sakuya worriedly

"Doctors say he had a light concussion but he's going to recover in a day or two at most".

"Now I get it", said Lindow lowering his head "He probably thinks its his fault this happened".

"Before things get started I want to ask you something Alisa", said James when she was close enough "Why did you leave your teammate when you knew another aragami was about to attack your position?"

"Well that was pretty obvious", she said casually "The mission was over so I had no interest in anything else besides going back."

"Alright then… can I take that to mean the only thing you care about is the mission and completing it?"

"Of course that's what I mean", she replied calmly "All that matters is the mission and it's completion".

"And if it's completion means that one of our own gets injured or worse?"

"That's acceptable", she replied coldly "We're at war with the aragami so being sentimental and caring about others cannot be allowed on the battlefield. Out there you need to be pragmatic and should you come to a point where you have to risk your team's safety for just one person then it's better to cut loose and leave them to their fate".

"Alright", he said raising his head and slightly frowning at her "You and I both know what's going to happen next so let me lay down the rules and goals here".

"Fighting dirty is allowed, winner is the one who makes the other submit or knocks their opponent out. If you win, I will step down as acting leader and you can take my place. If I win…"

"Well let's leave that till after I beat you".

"You're pretty cocky if you think you can take me", said Alisa then charged and attacked with a straight jab. James easily stepped to the side and dodged it. She attacked with jab after jab and James only needed to move to the side to avoid all her attacks.

"So who do you think's going to win?" asked Shun to everyone watching.

"James", said Lindow without any hesitation

"You think so? I heard Alisa's a graduate in more than ten forms of marital arts", said Sakuya "If anything I'm worried about James".

"I agree with Lindow on this one", said Brendan "James has this fight beat hands down".

"How are you so sure about that?" asked Shun off handedly "I mean he could slip up and make a mistake".

"Who James?" asked Tatsumi "Not happening."

"You remember when everyone was shocked at how James was able to avoid all of Kanon's shots in his second mission with her?" asked Brendan.

"Brendan and I wanted to find out how he was able to do that when the rest of us weren't so one day we got up real early and watched his training session", said Tatsumi then shook his head "Even now I'm having a tough time believing it."

"We saw James standing in the centre of the training room, standing on top of this spiked pole and balancing on one leg", he said "and if that wasn't enough, the whole room was firing tennis balls at him from all 360 degrees. The scariest part…"

"That wasn't the scariest part?" interrupted Karel

"I'm getting to it, the scariest part was James dodged every single one of them like it was nothing… and he did it while being blind folded".

"It was then we understood that James trained himself to have complete and total awareness of his surroundings at all times", said Brendan "Even if you're adept in an array of martial arts, it won't matter if your opponent can see and counter every move you have".

It was true, Alisa continued to attack James with everything she had but not one strike landed on him. She tried to grab him but he easily freed himself from her grasp. She tried to trip him but he either dodged or blocked her. There were even times when she attacked with a kick to the head and James simply replied by tilting his body at an awkward angel, completely avoiding her.

"Damn it", she yelled as James landed on the ground a few feet away from her "Stop dodging and fight me already".

"You're right", he said smiling a little "I'm ending this".

In a flash, James vanished then appeared only a few centimetres from Alisa. The girl was frozen in shock at how he covered the distance so quickly. In that second James' fist narrowly passed by her face but the force of it was enough that it caused some of the debris behind them to move back a little.

"Understand something clearly here", he said with his fist still close to her cheek. Whatever James said became garbled noise as her mind struggled to process what was happening. She looked at his cold eyes and realized that she could have suffered severe damage had his attack connected. When she was this close, she could almost feel this suffocating aura that he emitted and realized all her hard work, all the time she spent fighting and trying to better herself was nothing compared to him.

In the end, the only thing she could do was slump to her knees in defeat.

"You're not going to last a second here if you keep this up Alisa", he said then turned around and quietly walked away.

'No this can't be it', she thought grabbing the sand in front of her 'All my effort, everything that's happened to me, all that fighting to reach the top and there's someone else already there?'

'Damn it', she said her head shooting up and staring daggers into James' back 'I won't let it end like this. I won't just lie down like I did before.'

With that in mind, Alisa rose to her feet and charged forward, yelling out madly. She drew closer and closer but James did not notice or hear her at all. For a moment she believed that she could get him, it didn't matter that she resorted to something dirty the rules said that fighting dirty was allowed.

Her fist charged forward, intending on hitting James on the back of his head but just before it connected, James suddenly tilted his body to the side. He put his left hand on the ground and used it to lift his body in the air so that he could spin around and attack with a kick to the face.

Instead of connecting though, James' foot stopped once again only a centimetre from her face. Beads of sweat rolled down her head when she saw James slowly return to his feet, turn around and did not say a single word.

He simply left her alone in the training room, the message was clearly received by the young god eater.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: I do apologize about the previous chapter being a little longer than usual.

And now it's time for the most infamous mission in the first part of God Eater.

I hate Welkin

True to her word, Alisa did not participate in any missions. However the director of the base heard about the fight occurring between the two and decided to sentence James to suspend him for a whole week.

This was not received well by the others in the far east who all believed James was in the right for defending Kota and chastising Alisa for her callous nature. Add to that the fact that Johann allowed Alisa to go on as many missions as she liked and needless to say that no one in the far east branch was on the girl's side.

(Note: the mission that Lindow returns from is the one where he tells Alisa to look up in the sky when she feels stressed. Sorry I forgot to include it)

"How did the mission go?" asked Sakuya to Lindow while Alisa marched back to her room.

"Well enough", he said rubbing the back of his head "I'm more concerned with what's going on here".

"Someone trashed Alisa's room but no one's coming forward", replied Sakuya lowering her head "There are even a few rumours going around that James broke out of confinement, trashed her room and locked himself back up again."

"There's no way James would do that", he said and Sakuya replied with a weak laugh. After hearing about James' method of training, they wondered what kind of person he really was.

"Isn't today the day James is being released?" he asked and she simply nodded "Kota and Soma went to his cell to meet him", she said

"Wait Soma too?" asked Lindow

"Yeah, not sure why Soma's interested though".

"Why are you two lounging about?" asked Tsubaki coming in and surprising them.

"Ah sis don't be mean, we're just wondering about a couple of things", said Lindow

"Don't call me that when we're in the office", she said chopping him on the head "And by 'things' I take it you're wondering about James and Alisa?"

The two of them nodded

"Things are pretty bad, made worse by Johann leaving to one of the main branches leaving Dr. Sakaki and I in charge. I don't think anyone on the team wants to work with her".

"No one wants to work with her", said Sakuya reinforcing the point.

Just then they saw Alisa burst back into the lounge, covering her face. She was about to head down the stairs, when she noticed the lower elevator come up and out stepped James, flanked by Kota and Soma on either side.

"James", said Hibari with a smile

"Hey operator", he said returning her smile

"How was it in solitary?" she asked

"I had plenty of time to work on my meditation", he said with a shrug then flung himself onto the sofa.

"And here I thought you were going to reflect on your actions like a good soldier", said Tsubaki coming down the stairs.

James immediately shot up from his place and saluted her "Ma'am I apologize for my actions but I do believe them to be the right one in this case."

"James", said Tsubaki momentarily shifting her gaze to Alisa then turning back to him "Meet me in the office in another three hours."

James nodded and the boss left. When she left, Alisa followed behind.

"How are you buddy?" asked James to Kota "I never got to see you leaving the infirmary".

"Ah don't worry about me", replied Kota putting his hands behind his head "I was super surprised when I found out you went all berserk on Alisa for what happened".

"Can't have my partner in crime clocking out on me like that"

"Well I have to admit, I thought I had you pegged for being a straight laced snot nosed brat that followed orders without questions", said Soma walking ahead of them "You are still that to me but at least now you've got a little backbone".

With that said, Soma left the lounge.

"In case you're wondering", said Sakuya "That's the closest you're going to get to an 'I'm impressed' from Soma."

"Alright James", said Lindow "Have you finished your reports?"

"Yes".

"What about reading through the information dockets and planning out tomorrow's mission?"

"Done and done".

"Have you given your god arc for maintenance?"

"Uh…."

"Come on James I need you to focus here", said Lindow sounding frustrated.

"Lindow what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've been noticing for the past few days you've been on my case way more than normal", he elaborated "Asking me all kinds of weird questions related to work."

"Really?" he asked and James nodded. Realizing this, he slumped down and took his place on the sofa.

"Well its just that… you have the potential to do great things James. I've seen it and everyone else can see it as well".

"Yeah but there's no point because after my blow up with Alisa, no way am I going to get promoted", he said with a wave.

"That was just a speed bump. You keep things going and in a few month's no one's going to even remember this".

"I see you working with everyone so well but I know you're still only touching the surface of what you're capable of. It would be an utter waste if you never reach that potential so that's why I'm pushing you the way I am now."

James remained silent for a moment then stood up and said "I promise not to disappoint you boss man".

The team had a simple objective and that was to destroy a Vajra. The team consisted of Kota, Soma, Sakuya and James. After stalking up on some supplies, James opened his jacket and took a note of all the equipment he had then nodded in agreement. He remembered Lindow's words a few days back, realizing he had a lot of ground to cover to have his own team.

He gave one last nod to his team and they headed to the location without wasting too long.

"We're going with a standard formation here", said James to them "Sakuya and Kota will defend us from the rear, Soma and I will tear the Vajra upfront".

"You ready to get some revenge?" he asked Kota

"Damn right", replied the youth with a determined expression.

They landed in the mission area and did not take too long finding the Vajra. It attacked by charging forward, causing the team to scatter. James was the only one in the air and converted to his gun then fired a few times at the aragami. Kota and Sakuya recovered and fired from the sides. Soma attacked with a swing from his sword aimed at one of it's feet while James landed on the back and hacked away at its back. Vajra wasted no time by leaping in the air, catching James off guard thus causing him to fall to the ground with a heavy thud.

"You okay?" asked Kota turning back to him for a moment

"Still kicking", he said getting to his feet "Everyone get down now".

The three of them did as told and they understood why. James flung his spear at the Vajra and it wildly spun about, drawing closer to the target. The aragami however was able to deflect it but realized too late what was going on. While the spear was knocked into the air, Soma used this chance to get onto the shaft of the spear then launch himself higher into the air before coming down on the aragami with a downward strike. The attack landed a deep slash on the Vajra's face, causing it to stumble back.

Soma turned around then saw James leap over his head and land before him. He picked up his spear, charged it up then thrust it forward, piercing through the Vajra's stomach; landing a heavy blow on the opponent.

"On me", he called out, Kota and Sakuya stood beside him as the three of them unleashed a merciless barrage on the aragami, shattering through most of its defences. Soma saw his opportunity when James extended his arms out.

"Damn this kid really is crazy", he muttered to himself as he ran forward and leapt off of James' back, getting ready to attack with another downward strike. The only difference is that now, James charged his spear, ready to attack with an upward swing of his spear.

The two looked at each other, wordlessly understanding each other before unleashing their attacks. This translated to James floating up while Soma stood below and the Vajra stood dumbfounded for a few second before it was split in half right down the middle.

"Still got it", said James with a smile as he landed on the ground.

"So what are we going to go home and do now?" asked Kota

"I don't know about you but I'm going to soak in my tub and have a nice bowl of hot noodles", said Sakuya resting her god arc on her back "James interested in having dinner with me".

"Yes", said James barely a second after she posed the question and received questioning looks from the others.

"Don't get me wrong, the food is great at the cafeteria but it leaves a little to be desired", he said trying to justify his answer "And I heard how amazing your cooking is so I've been itching for a chance to try some of your food".

"Who told you about my cooking?" she asked

"Lindow did", he replied then turned to Soma "What about you Soma?"

"Probably going to go train and do a little reading", he replied "And no James I don't want a training partner".

"Aww", said James slumping his shoulders forward a little while the four of them rounded a corner.

"Well speak of the devil", said James upon noticing that they were not alone. Before them was Lindow and Alisa who immediately looked away at the sight of James.

"What's going on here?" asked Lindow "I thought we were the only ones working here".

"So did I", said James "What's going on here?"

"Regular recon mission that's all", he said "We searched the eastern quadrant all that's left is the eastern quadrant".

"We just came from there", stated Sakuya "There was a Vajra there but we took care of that".

"Cool", he said smiling "All that's left to do is check out this cathedral and we can call it quits".

"Hmm seems like a pain if its just you two scoping the place", stated James "Take one from my team".

"James chill there's nothing to worry about", said Lindow with a hand up "There are no aragami here so we've got no problem at all. We'll get in, get out and that'll be it but if you really want to help then scan the perimeter".

With that said Lindow and Alisa headed inside while James let out a growl of frustration.

"Why is he always like that?" he asked with a raised voice to Sakuya and Soma

"He's always been that way", said Sakuya with a smile "Don't worry about it too much".

"Fine then everyone perimeter sweep, meet back here in five minutes and not a second less", declared James.

While the four of them were busy scanning the place for any signs of trouble, they suddenly heard a loud crash coming from inside the cathedral. Immediately all of them headed to the entrance with Soma and Kota standing outside to keep their backs safe.

They noticed a portion of the cathedral being blocked off by a wall of rubble with Alisa on one side, on her knees clutching her face and muttering "I'm sorry".

"Lindow", yelled out James, he and Sakuya ran to the wall and frantically looked at the rubble for any signs of way to get through.

"Good to hear you guys are okay", said his voice from the other side.

"Lindow stay where you are", said James taking a few steps back then converting his spear to his gun "I'm blowing this popsicle stand".

"Wait no", yelled out Sakuya "We don't know what will happen if you do something like that James there has to be another way".

"I don't think there's any time for that", said Lindow with a weak chuckle.

Before either of them could ask, they saw Kota and Soma backing into the cathedral. If that wasn't enough they now heard Hibari on their intercoms saying "James bad news, we're seeing a sudden spike in aragami activity all over your area. You guys need to get out of there right now".

"Have the copter get here quickly Hibari", said Lindow

"NO DAMN IT DON'T LISTEN TO THAT IDIOT", barked James into the communicator "We are not leaving here until we have rescued Lindow."

"Not possible", said Soma "There are Vajra's coming in from all sides, if we take them on we're going to die here."

"Your only option is to leave me here James", said Lindow

"Damn it Lindow we're not doing that", shouted Sakuya "We're going to do something right James?"

When she posed the question, she expected him to agree with her. But when she turned to him for confirmation, she could already see that he had something else planned.

"We're going with a diamond pattern", said James to Kota and Soma "Soma you're going to lead, Sakuya and Kota will watch our flanks and I'll bring up the rear".

"Damn it no James", pleaded the sniper "We are not going to leave Lindow behind".

"Sakuya listen to me", barked James "I promise you we are going to save Lindow but we cannot risk the lives of our team. Get your head in the game and form up on me right now".

She grit her teeth and headed towards the other two, not wanting to look at James in the face.

"Hey old man", said James placing his hand on the rubble "You better not do anything stupid alright, I'm coming back to get you".

"You promise?" asked Lindow

"Damn right big guy", he said then turned around

"Sorry, not sorry Alisa", he said with a quick jab to Alisa's chest, knocking her out. He bent down and carried her on his right shoulder then met the others outside. When they did they found that they were surrounded by Vajras.

James was able to take a few flash grenades out of his pocket and lobbed one into the air. This bought them the time they needed to make a beeline towards the helicopter landing zone. As they drew closer, they could see the copter but behind them was a female faced aragami coming closer and closer to them.

The team reached the helicopter and everyone loaded themselves in while James stood on the edge as the copter slowly rose up.

"Let's get this bucket in the air fast", he declared tapping the bulletproof glass window.

The helicopter slowly rose to the air but they noticed the female aragami getting even closer. James knew that if that thing jumped it would take down the helicopter and the people inside. He looked inside at his team and said "Throw me a rope".

"Huh?" but he didn't listen. James simply pushed himself off the helicopter much to everyone's shock then turned around just as the female aragami leapt into the air to try and catch the helicopter.

He shifted to his gun mode then pointed it at his target and shouted "From me to you, hope ya choke on it".

He fired the bullet which hit the target pushing it back, while it propelled James ever so slightly in the air. He turned himself around and reached up with his free hand, grasping the very bottom of the rope.

Feeling it tug, Sakuya, Soma and Kota all pulled the rope back, able to bring James into the helicopter once again.

"Get this helicopter back to the far east as fast as possible", said James to the pilot "I need permission to something truly insane".


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Aftermath

Once she was loaded onto the stretcher and their god arcs were safely deposited, James marched towards the director's room without wasting any time at all.

"Huh?" he said when he entered and found Tsubaki and Dr. Sakaki but no sign of Director Johannes.

"Where's the boss man?" he asked

"He's gone to one of the head quarters in Europe", said Tsubaki "While he's away, Dr. Sakaki will be the unofficial head of the far east".

"Alright cool", he said nodding "Either way, I need permission to commandeer one of the helicopters in order to launch a rescue mission".

The two of them stared at him slightly wide eyed prompting James to elaborate.

"I'm sure Hibari has told you about what happened in the current mission. We had no choice but to leave Lindow behind and I need to get a heli to get back there and save Lindow".

Instead of giving him the go ahead, the two heads exchanged worried looks.

"What's going on here?" asked James sounding anxious "One of our own is out there waiting for a rescue and the more time we spend here waiting, his chances…"

"James one moment", said the Doctor typing something onto the keyboard. Then he turned one of the many computer screens towards James displaying a thermal map of the mission area they were just in.

"What the?" he asked noticing it almost immediately "There's no signal from Lindow."

"We've lost Lindow's signal a few minutes ago", said Dr. Sakaki with his head lowered

"Then all the more reason we should be concerned", objected James "If something's happened to his bracelet then all the more reason…"

"and you want us to send you alone?" barked Tsubaki banging the desk "What happens if you die?"

"I won't", he said sternly and for the first time he refused to buckle under his boss' gaze.

"James", said the doctor clearing his throat "I understand your reasoning and desire to save a friend but as leaders it is our job to ensure the safety of the whole and not a single individual. As such there are times where the safety of everyone else takes precedence over the life of a single person".

"James we may not have spoken much but from what Lindow has told us about you, I understand that he saw a great deal of potential in you", he added with trying to appeal to him "As such I need you on our side."

James understood the implications behind those words. Considering how much time passed, everyone in the far east was bound to have found out about it and are itching to go. If they saw James leading the charge they would no doubt follow without hesitation.

Considering how many Aragami were there when they left, the risks of severe or fatal injuries was terribly high, which meant the only option they had was to leave him.

He understood the cold pragmatism but that did not change how much he hated it. Letting out a loud cry of frustration, James hit the desk angrily then turned around and left.

"Fine", he barked out "But that doesn't mean I should like it."

When he rounded a corner the he saw Sakuya. Before he could say another word, her right arm shot out, landing on his face and knocked him to the ground.

"I can't believe you left him", she said her hand still trembling with rage "Lindow was our friend, so why did you leave him?"

He slowly stood back up but he could not meet her gaze. James swallowed hard, understanding what needed to be done then looked at her and said "WE had no other choice. If we stayed there any longer then we'd risk the lives of our team".

He could see the conflict in her eyes and how much it pained her to be pragmatic and not act on her instincts. In the end she simply turned around, heading back to her room; no doubt to let out some of her frustration.

As he predicted, the news spread through the branch like wild fire. The general story was thanks to Alisa's actions the team was forced to leave Lindow behind because they were ambushed by a large force of aragami.

Opinions aside on the matter, James sat on the lounge earlier than everyone else and took this time to organize his thoughts. According to all the information he had on the area, there were no aragami other than a Vajra. The fact that more than a dozen large aragami were able to launch a sneak attack on the team worried him to no end.

As much as he wanted to pursue the underlying problem with that mission, there were obviously bigger problems that needed to be addressed.

Because of that he now found himself in the training room but today he was not alone. On the opposite side stood Sakuya, dressed in her training clothes, a simple sleeveless black top with long black pants.

The two of them initially said nothing. All James did was raise his fists up and Sakuya came at him. She attacked with two jabs and he dodged them then came in close and pushed her to the ground.

"Again", he said. The veteran spat at the ground then stood back up and attacked. James dodged then came closer but she retaliated with a high knee. James of course caught her knee and threw her into the ground.

"Again", he said with a raised voice. She got up and charged at him with a leg sweep forcing him to leap up. When that happened Sakuya grabbed him by the hand and threw him over her head, ramming him into the ground. Immediately she got on top of him and landed another heavy blow to his face.

James this time did not counter. He simply looked back at her and asked "You feeling better?"

Sakuya suddenly snapped out of her rage and immediately got off of him. James slowly got back to his feet and spat out some blood.

"Damn", he said with a smile "That's some mean jabs Sakuya."

"I'm sorry", she said "I didn't want to".

"I deserved it", he countered "After what happened you needed to let off steam and this was the only way to do it. Even if it meant losing a tooth in the process"

"Did you?" she asked sounding worried and James simply shook his head making her feel a bit better.

After that, the two of them got some breakfast and sat on the helipad, talking about varying subjects. By the time they were finished Hibari came to the lounge and Sakuya excused herself. James then spoke to Hibari and found that Alisa was suffering from a mental breakdown and the doctor made it clear that no one was to speak to her.

Biting his lip, he headed back to his room and changed into his regular uniform, after all aragami don't have day's off. The missions available were all mop up which was perfect as he wanted to vent. Contrary to his usual style, this time he decided to solo the missions as it gave him time to think of what should be done next.

This train of thought unfortunately interfered with his mission, allowing a Kongou to get the better of him by knocking him through a building, injuring his right arm. He was able to recover from this and used a Gboro's projectile to stun the kongou long enough for him to capitalize.

After the mission was over and he was on his way back, he took the time to carefully analyse the situation. Rumours were rampant at the moment and even those on the ground had no idea what actually occurred. The only one who knew what happened was strapped to her bed and was unconscious for the foreseeable future.

When he got down, he headed back to his room but noticed Alisa's door open. Curious he went inside and was surprised to see two low ranking cadets trashing the place.

"What the hell are you doing?" he barked causing them to immediately freeze in their place. They turned around but kept their head lowered.

James understood their reasoning to some extent but this was the reaction he was hoping would not happen. Rather than retaliate as well, he simply stepped aside and let them go but made sure to give them a very clear warning.

Alisa projected herself as a 'holier than thou' type and had no problem prioritizing the mission over the team but if that were the case, why did she have that breakdown? James momentarily ran the scenario where Alisa was the enemy and trapped Lindow. In such a case she would normally be content that her plan was a success but instead the exact opposite happened.

This was why he stood outside Soma's door and knocked. In a moment, the teen in question opened the door, grimaced when he saw James and tried to close the door but James' foot prevented that. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Soma finally gave up and let James in.

"You ever think about cleaning this place up?" asked James staring at the bullet holes on one side of the wall

"I'm not here that often so why bother?" he asked then fell onto his chair "Let me guess, you're here because the whole branch is in a huff and are probably calling for Alisa's head".

Soma was right. Though they weren't gunning for her actual head, the mood in the far east branch was thus; treat her so badly that she transfers out to somewhere else.

"Yes and I need you to keep the peace till we can get to the bottom of things".

"And why me? You're clearly the one that's got all the makings of a leader".

"I'm still fresh off the boat comparatively speaking. I need to have a senior backing my play, Sakuya's already on my side and it'd be good if you back me up too".

"Alright let's say that I do help you, I have two questions, one is let's just say Alisa did try to take out Lindow but missed what are you going to do?"

"I'll take care of that myself", he said with a tone implying that there were terrible consequences in store if that was true".

"The other question, it goes without saying that Lindow pretty much took you under his wing and acted like a teacher. Tell me do you intend on following in his footsteps and becoming a great god eater?"

'I'm already great in my own right', thought James but decided not to say that out loud as that would lead to more questions "I don't intend to be like him, I intend to surpass him".

"That so?" he asked raising an eyebrow and carefully examining him "Alright then I'll back you up but if I find that you're not up to his standard at any point… well we'll deal with that when it happens".


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Resonance

"And another one bites the dust", said Kota raising his fist in triumph. Kanon, Brenda and Kota headed towards James who watched quietly at the dead aragami before it was swallowed into the ground.

"Shall we get going?" asked Brendan but James stayed in his spot, not saying a word

"James?" asked Kanon

"Yeah, sorry", he said turning around "I was busy thinking of a couple of things".

The others simply nodded in response, understanding what he meant. Over the past couple of days, they had seen James practically run around the entirety of the base more than ten times in a single day. The reason being that over the past few days, he had become the go-to guy for all the after mission work. Whether it be planning strategies to checking on reports to helping out with maintenance, if he was not on the field slicing and dicing, he was being pulled in every single direction.

At times, Sakuya and Kota were genuinely concerned about his well being but he would simply tell them there'd be nothing to worry about.

"Let's head back home", he said

"Hey James interested in having dinner with me and my family tonight?" asked Kota when they boarded the helicopter.

"Yeah that would be a good deal", he replied "But why now all of a sudden?"

"Well I've been talking about you guys with my mom and sis whenever I go there so last time mom asked me to bring over my friend".

"James you should get some rest when you head back to the base", suggested Kanon looking at him trying to act like he was not tired.

"Don't have the time for that", he said "I still have more than a dozen reports to take care of and…"

"How about you let one of us handle it just for tonight?" asked Brendan "It isn't fair that we're relying on you for all this stuff".

"I'll think about it"

When they got back, everyone headed to their room while James headed to the medical room. He made it a point to check there as much as possible so that he could speak to Alisa. From what he heard, the girl had stabilized which meant she could answer questions.

Try as he might however, he always found that weird doctor standing guard over her, preventing him from questioning her.

Today however, luck was in his favour when he noticed the old man was not there.

"Maybe he's on a bathroom break", he muttered to himself then went inside.

Seeing as she was the only one there, it was easy to spot Alisa. She looked so peaceful and calm when she was asleep, James wondered how someone that quiet and unassuming could cause so much trouble when she was awake.

'She does look a bit pretty though', he thought looking closer at her. James shook his head a little and dismissed the thought. Now was not the time for thinking like that. He reached out to touch her hand and when he did, his mind was hit with a flood of images.

All of a sudden he was inside a cupboard and heard a little girls voice. The girl kept calling out to her parents and they called out trying to find her.

"Alisa", said the mother

"Where are you?" asked the father

She giggled to herself then said "I'm not telling".

James watched from her view as she waited for them but all of a sudden, she heard a loud crashing noise followed by the two adults yelling. Alisa was about to open the door when she saw a large black creature with the face of an old bearded man pass by. Terrified, she went back in and held the door tightly shut.

Now he was in a lab and heard a familiar voice on the speaker

"he is your enemy, he is the one you must kill", said the voice displaying a picture of Lindow and an aragami James had not yet seen.

"I must kill him", said Alisa in a hypnotized state "He is my enemy, he must be killed."

And now James watched Alisa walk behind Lindow as they both entered the cathedral.

"Well looks like we're nearly done here", he said going ahead of her.

Without warning Alicia felt a sudden pain in her head. He knew this because he felt a terrible pain in his head as well. He could hear the voice telling her to kill him, he could feel Alisa struggling to follow her command.

Finally the girl cried out loud cry as she pointed her gun up and fired. This caused the rubble to fall down, separating the two. Realizing what she had done, Alisa fell to the ground, clutching her hand and continued chanting "I'm sorry".

And just like that James was brought back to reality. His head turned to Alisa who slowly began to stir.

The girl opened her eyes and looked at her left hand which James was still holding "You saved me", she said sounding completely different from the know-it-all he knew her to be.

Completely puzzled by this, James looked at his hand and wondered what was going on.

"What the?" said another voice and the two turned to see the doctor standing at the door, looking as shocked as James was "There's no way that she should have been able to wake up from a coma".

"I have to report this", he wailed then left the room

"Hey moron," barked James now standing at the door "When your subject suddenly makes a miraculous recovery, you check up on her and not run the other way, YOU USELESS QUACK!"

Much to his surprise he heard Alisa chuckle from his rant causing him to turn to her

"Sorry", she said smiling "I just found it funny seeing you react like that".

Seeing her smile seemed to calm James down for some reason, which made no sense to him.

"James why is your face red?" she asked suddenly and only now he realized that he was actually blushing. James quickly shook his head and stood beside Alisa once again.

"I'm not as versed in medicine like Sakuya or that pork chop doctor was", he said sitting down "But if you don't mind I'd like to give you a little check up".

The girl nodded in agreement and he gently held her hand, placing his thumb on her vein and carefully measuring her pulse. After that he checked her eye movement moving his index finger from side to side.

Eventually Dr. Sakaki arrived along with the other doctor who almost jumped out of his skin when James snarled at him.

"You say that this happened when you touched her?" asked the doctor.

"Yes", said James "I touched her hand for a moment and all of a sudden… whoosh".

"Hmm, this may or may not be true but I think that it has something to do with both of you being second generation god eaters", he said fixing his glasses.

"As you know, the second generation types are able to synchronize the oracle cells in their body to a degree much higher than the first generation. I think that when two second generation types make physical contact, it causes the oracle cells in both bodies to suddenly resonate, thus linking both minds together".

"That makes sense", interjected Alisa "When we were resonating, I saw some of James' memories".

James froze at that statement, a bead of sweat rolling down his back.

"But it was going by too fast for me to get anything", she added and James mentally sighed in relief.

"Well this is good news", said the doctor with a clap "Alisa I'd ask that you remain here for a little longer till we're sure that you're back to one hundred percent".

Alisa nodded and James headed to the door then said "Well I'm heading to my thinking spot to relax a little. Anything you want to tell me?"

"Yes James I'd like to examine you as well to make sure nothing bad happened", said the doctor and James nodded.

James sat at the edge of the helipad and watched the sun sink beneath the horizons. The day started off pretty normal then took a sudden turn in the opposite direction. He was able to bring Alisa out of her coma which was good but this opened the door to more questions.

Just then he felt something cold against his cheek. He turned around and saw Tsubaki standing behind him with a glass of whiskey in one hand and two shot glasses in another hand. What interested James most of all was that this time he saw Tsubaki with a calm and relaxed look on her face, a far change from her usual strict and no nonsense look.

"The doctor said I'd find you here, is there company for two?"

James nodded and his boss sat opposite him. Tsubaki proceeded to pour the whiskey into both the glasses and gave one to him.

"You know back when I was a god eater and Lindow was slowly making a name for himself", said the lady "My team and I had this tradition."

"Whenever we had a bad day or if one of our team mates gets injured, we'd get a bottle of whiskey and talk. We'd air out all our problems and fears that we have"

With one quick motion, she swallowed the contents of the glass in a single gulp then said "But when the bottle was empty, we were to never bring up the subject again."

James understood what she was talking about which was why he drank as well. The two spent the night talking about Lindow and James got to learn a great deal about him from his sister. Once the glass was empty, Tsubaki slowly got up and patted James on his back

"I'll be relying on you in the days to come James", she said then turned around and walked away.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Training

"In the end had Lindow not noticed the falling rubble and pushed her out of the way, Alisa would be dead", said James to the rest of the teams gathered in the lounge room.

"So you're saying that everything that happened was just bad luck?" asked Shun

"Yep", nodded James getting off the table "Now I know this isn't the answer you're hoping for but it is what it is so I'd ask you all to accept this and move on".

"Well that's a pretty big surprise coming from you", said Gina in a matter of fact way "After all you were the leader of the Anti Alisa team".

"I still am but that doesn't mean I wanted to light the pitchforks and chase her out over rumours or anything. What's important in times like this is finding out the truth".

The groups nodded and slowly dispersed. Soon enough the lounge was empty with the exception of James… and Sakuya

"The truth huh?" she asked putting her hands on her hips.

"At the moment that was the truth that they needed to believe"

"So what really happened?"

"Lindow was digging into something big and something dangerous", he replied looking deathly serious "As such I'm asking you to not investigate anything to do with Lindow and leave everything to me".

"You can't really expect me to do that can you?" she asked sounding equally serious

"Right now our culprit is probably keeping a close eye on all of his closest teammates and family. That means Tsubaki, Soma and you are under close watch and how do you think he's going to react when they find out you're doing the same thing Lindow did?"

"Let me find out who did this"

"Fine", she said with a huff "But when you do find the culprit, I want to be there".

"That was a give-in", he said heading up the stairs

"James are you going to see Alisa again?" she asked and he simply nodded in agreement.

"You've been going there a lot these past few days", she stated and James looked at her confused

"I have? Hmm… I didn't know that".

Though he played ignorant, it was evident to Sakuya, Kota and Soma that James had been spending more and more time with the newest recruit after she had awoken from her coma. He took the elevator and found himself standing outside the recovery room.

'Am I spending too much time here?' he thought then dismissed it. James opened the door and went inside.

"James", said Alisa greeting him with a smile.

"Hi Alisa, you getting enough rest?" he asked

"I've been doing nothing but rest the whole time here", she said falling back into her pillow "I even finished all those books you gave me".

"I gave you ten".

"I'm a fast reader"

"It's been three days"

"I'm a fast reader", she repeated.

"Alright I'll bring you some more tomorrow", he said taking a seat

"So tell me about your day", said Alisa looking at him "Spare no detail I want to know everything".

"So today I sat on the toilet…"

"James", she cried out and hit him in the shoulder.

"Fine, fine", he said raising his hands up and told Alisa about his day. It was strange at first talking about things with someone he wanted nothing to do with not too long ago. He was hesitant initially but after finding that Alisa no longer behaved like how she used to, he felt comfortable talking to her.

"So when do you think they're going to let you go?" he asked sipping on a glass of water

"They said the day after tomorrow I'll be discharged", she said

"Then you can finally go back to kicking aragami butt", he said and Alisa chuckled nervously at his comment.

"Well I should get going", he said and stood back up

"Ah James wait", called out Alisa causing him to turn around and look at her.

"Do you mind hanging out here a little longer please? It's been pretty quiet here".

James understood why. Despite his efforts to assure the others that Alisa had no part to play in the Welkin mission but the wound was still sore.

"Alright but fair warning, I'll be coming back with plenty of paperwork".

"You weren't kidding when you said lots of paperwork", said Alisa worriedly when she saw James return with a large stack of papers and proceeded to go through every single page carefully.

"Need some help with that?" she asked but James waved his hand and said "Don't worry I got this".

Eventually Alisa was discharged and she headed straight for the lounge. When she arrived, she found James sitting upside down on the sofa either deep in thought or was unable to get back to his vertical base. She watched quietly as the boy rocked to the side a little bit then fell off the sofa and stood back up like he meant to do that in the first place.

Just then she saw Kota coming out of the elevator from the opposite side with his god arc in hand.

"Hey bro, you ready?" he asked

"Sure", replied James turning around then said "Hi Alisa" before pausing for a moment.

"That's right", he said pursing his lips "You got discharged today".

"Oi James how'd you manage to forget something that important?" asked Kota standing beside him.

"Sorry", he said smiling sheepishly.

"I don't mind", said the girl "You guys going out on a mission?"

"Actually today we're going to do a little practice in the training room", said James pointing to the elevator on the lower floor "I've come up with some interesting new team idea but I need a second person to make this work, particularly a gunner".

"That's right", said Kota cheerily putting his arm around James "The legendary duo are back in the saddle. And after that we're going to my family's place to eat, that is of course if someone doesn't last minute dodge".

"Sorry", said James meekly while not looking at Kota.

The two were about to head down when they heard a pair of voices from below

"So that girl's been allowed back into the field huh?" said one soldier

"Tch, I can't believe that the director okayed this", said a second soldier "After what she did?"

"Hey don't forget that James cleared her name, she was just a victim".

"I don't care, that girls caused us nothing but trouble"

"I know right, she made such a big noise when she came here but when push comes to shove she didn't do a damn thing".

"OI!", shouted James and the two immediately went to the elevator and left. He turned around and saw Alisa lowering her head, probably trying to hide how that must have hurt her.

"Hey don't mind them alright", said Kota reassuringly "Soon enough they're going to forget this ever happened".

Alisa didn't say anything at all, she simply nodded.

"You want to come with us to the training room?" suggested James "Having a set of fresh eyes might help out with those moves we're planning to practice".

It was a terrible attempt at trying to comfort someone and he knew it. But at the moment he was drawing blanks on how to help Alisa.

"Yeah," she said raising her head up trying to put up a brave front "I'd like to come with you."

AN: sorry if this chapter is a bit boring. Tomorrow we're going to get back to action with the introduction of the fallen types and some extra chapters added in here and there for extra fun.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: this might be a little long.

Budding Relationship

Tatsumi and Brenda slid back on the cold hard ground. They both tried to get up but they were simply too weak to try anything.

"Damn", said Brendan panting hard "How much stamina do you have?"

"Long enough", replied James cryptically taking a deep breath and returning to his initial position

"Still", said Tatsumi lying flat out and not wanting to get up "It's pretty scary to think that you're this good despite having only one arm".

James looked at his bandaged right arm and smiled at the two "Small problems like that aren't enough to slow me down".

"By the way… you never told us how that happened", said Brendan "it's hard to imagine any aragami catching you off guard".

"That was partly my own fault", he said scratching his head "I went on a mission with Kota and Alisa to take out a new type of 'fallen aragami'. Trouble was that when we got there, Alisa practically shut down and couldn't attack at all. Thanks to that the kongou got me off guard with that roll attack and in the process to my right arm out of commission".

"You know I'm also surprised how Tsubaki allowed you to go on other missions despite being wounded", added Tatsumi

"Well that's actually because I haven't told her yet", said James looking away.

"Well you're secret's face with us buddy", said Tatsumi.

The trio headed out of the training room. Tatsumi and Brendan headed back to their rooms to take some time and recover from the beating their friend had dished out but James made his way to the lounge area to accept some new missions from Hibari. He needed to get more information on the fallen types of aragami. The primary concern he had was that their weak points are different from the regular types which meant he'd have to alter his strategies.

He was about to head to the elevator and leave with a team of Gina, Soma and Karel when the elevator from the side opened up with Alisa walking through. She paused for a moment when she saw James then her eyes widened in shock.

"James what are you doing?" she shouted and he quickly came forward putting his hand on her mouth "Seriously please do not tell anyone about the injury".

"But why?" she asked when he lowered his hand "You're injured, you should be resting in your room and…"

"I only have two gears, full throttle and sleep", he said "There's no such middle ground here".

"But…"

"Just don't tell anyone and I promise to do something nice"

"Nice like what? Will you cook me dinner?"

"Nope", he said flatly "I'm a terrible chef but if you agree I promise to do something really nice".

"Fine but I'm holding you to those words got it", she said and James headed out with a smile.

A fallen quadriga waited for them in the underground railway. The aragami that had an ice attribute which was a great irony considering that most of the railway was filled with lava. It surprised James that when they got to the location, it did not feel all that hot.

"I heard that the scientists back at Fenrir's super HQ designed these clothes that are able to lower or raise our temperature depending on the area", explained Gina.

"Who da thunk it?" mused James aloud "Alright gang here's how things are going down; We are going to lure the aragami to point F, that area gives us a lot of room to run around and cause some trouble…"

"But it also allows the quadriga plenty of space to attack us with its ranged attacks", said Karel.

"This does however ensure it cannot use two of it's attacks, the jump and shockwave attack and the long range barrage", added James "The rules of engagement are… I want all three of you to surround it and divide its attention. While that happens I slip in and penetrate some of those defences to soften it up for you guys".

"Alright team, heads on a swivel, stay frosty and let's all come back home alive", he declared and the team nodded then headed out.

They found the tank and proceeded with the plan. The shooters all moved out to their spots and James proceeded to attack with multiple stabs to the main chest. He was surprised to find that his attacks were not doing much damage. The other problem was that this caught the tanks attention and it raised its front legs about to bring it down on him. He immediately rolled aside then lobbed his knives at the creature, creating a platform. James used those knives to leap up and land on top of the creatures head. It immediately tried to shake him off. James jabbed his spear into the things head but it did not penetrate deep enough, allowing the creature to send James crashing into the nearby walls.

The others paused but quickly resumed the attack. James slowly got back up and felt a sharp pain shoot up from his injured arm. If that wasn't enough he saw patches of his clothes get darker making it obvious that his wounds were opening up.

"Damn it", he hissed then looked at the battlefield. The group were able to keep the aragami on it's toes but he needed to put a stop to this mission.

"Kota we're going for the 'heavenly spear'", he called out and his teammate nodded.

"What are you guys talking about?" shouted Gina

The two of them did not answer. James ran towards the quadriga like a man possessed till he was near enough. He charged the spear then held it up and threw it as hard as possible at the target. Upon seeing it Kota carefully lined up his shot and pressed the trigger on his god arc. He let loose a barrage of bullets, greatly increasing the spears speed. It hit the aragami in the centre of its chest and shattered the armour that it had.

"Gina, Karel go crazy", he barked out and the two gunners quickly capitalized on the opportunity. They fired a focused barrage at the wounded aragami. It backed away and fired its missiles from the pods on its sides. The team easily dodged all of that then went back on the offense. James in particular held his god arc up with one hand, then shifted it to second form and joining the group in their assault.

The aragami charged forward in a last desperate attempt to get some distance but Karel and James were a step ahead of it. Karel lobbed a paralysis trap and James threw a flashbang into the air. This caused the aragami to pause its advance which in turn let it get caught in Karel's trap.

James ran up the creatures back while the others came forward. The trio fired a barrage of bullets at it while their team leader fired another charged spear attack. The spear pierced through the tank's head and landed on the ground. It floundered about for a while till it finally collapsed on the ground. He hopped off the dead body and claimed his weapon with a triumphant look on his face.

"And are you sure there's nothing wrong with you?" asked Gina with James backed against a wall "Nothing at all that we should know about?"

"Nope, I'm totally fine", he said calmly and Gina sighed in disappointment before her right arm shot out and grabbed his right arm. Though he did his best to hide it, James flinched a little and that all the answer she needed.

"Why are you hiding this from us?" she asked

"Because I can't afford to take a day off, not right now"

"Look I know you feel the need to push yourself given what's happened", she said lowering her head "But you need to pace yourself. Right now it is true that everyone is relying on you both on and off the missions but what do you think is going to happen if you suddenly collapse or falter during the mission? Or what if something worse happens?"

James paused for a little, remembering their earlier mission and how being hit caused them to falter, if only for a moment.

"Fine then, I'll take it easy for a couple of days", he said looking away "Instead of four I'll just stick with one".

Gina wanted to chastise James upon hearing this but she realized she shouldn't. Considering at the level he operated, this was the best she could hope for. She agreed but there were a few other conditions but that was enough.

James now headed to the maintenance room and greeted Licca. He had only met her for a few minutes in total despite being here for so long. Just like him, she was also pretty busy maintaining and ensuring that all god arcs were able to work properly on the field.

"Hey there James", she said leaping off the table and walking towards him with a smile. "To what do I owe this meeting?"

"For some reason my god arc is feeling pretty weak today", he said "I don't know why so I was hoping you could find out about it".

"Well I already know without even having to look at it", she said "You never upgraded the weapon at all".

"What?"

"You collect parts from the fallen aragami yes? You can use those parts to enhance the base parameters of the god arcs, allowing it to deal more damage and cause more trouble", she explained "You can even do the same thing for the rifles."

"WOoooowwww", said James taken back "I didn't know about that. Can you recommend any new upgrades?"

"Sure, just give me a couple of hours and the god arc will be back to causing trouble again", she said with a chuckle.

It would be a while before the day came to an end and with nothing to do, James found himself sitting in the lounge doing a little light reading. After that he went to one of the open terminals and checked his profile. As it turned out there were a great many improvements that he did not know about and was slowly starting to catch up.

"There's a mail system too?" he muttered to himself, proceeding to answer all the mails sent to him and apologize to them for not replying soon enough. Curiously he saw one mail from Kanon but the content seemed a bit strange.

What he didn't notice was Kanon entering the room with a panicked expression. She noticed James almost immediately and went to him with an increased pace. When she drew closer, she saw him turn around and with a smile he asked casually "Hey Kanon, how is your mom?"

"AHHH", she shouted covering her face "I'm sorry, I sent you that message, it was a mistake honest."

"Hey relax", he said holding the one good arm up "It was a simple mistake, anyone could have done it. What matters is that you don't spend too long thinking about it."

"Actually there was something else that happened", she said looking away and fidgeting with her hands "My mom kinda asked me a little about you and well one thing led to another so she's asking me to bring you over for dinner tonight".

"Tonight?" he repeated

"Yeah, I normally go there every Friday and catch mom up on things", she added "OF course it's totally okay if you say no. I know you do a lot of work and…"

"Yeah I would love to have dinner with you guys", he said in an effort to calm her down "I've been force… suggested that I should take it a little easy for now".

"Why did something happen?"

"Nothing like that, just that I need to pace myself", he said.

"Alright then see you in the evening James", she said with a smile, turning on one heel and headed back to the elevator.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Day Off

"Hi mom", said Kanon rushing forward to greet the lady standing outside the dilapidated shack with her arms open wide. The lady was in her mid to late forties, with a stained apron on top and a long brown sleeveless coat. What surprised James most of all was that the lady had the same coloured hair as Kanon did.

"Kanon you look well", she said pulling back and taking a good look at her daughter "Are you eating well and getting along with your friends?"

"Yeah mom I'm doing fine", she said smiling "Ah before I forget, this is the person I've been talking to you about".

"James meet my mom Haruka Daiba", she said and James bowed. "Mom, meet James".

"I've heard a lot about you", said Haruka with a calm smile "You've been taking Kanon out on a lot of missions. I hope she's not being too much trouble".

"Mom", she cried out

"I admit it was a surprise but I'm getting used to Kanon's style of fighting", he said with a deep bow.

"My, my such modesty. No wonder Kanon talks about you a lot when she comes here".

"Mom stop", cried the girl out then turned to James "We only talked about you a couple of times".

Haruka led the two inside then had James and Kanon sit at the table while she went into the kitchen. James remembered that while the god eaters got it easy with giant rooms and indoor plumbing, the rest of the world did not have it as easy. The house looked like one that could be blown away with a strong enough gust of wind. It had enough room for one bed all that separated the hall from the kitchen was a single, almost transparent sheet.

It did not take long for Mrs. Daiba to return from the kitchen holding two plates in hand. She set one for Kanon and another for James. The teen looked at the moderately sized bowl which had a loaf of bread that had been sliced at intervals and had cheese stuck inside. Along with that was a bowl of potato soup with carrots, beans and peas. Haruka returned with another plate for herself. The three sat at the table and proceeded to start eating.

"OH my goodness", cried James out loud with tears flowing down his eyes "This is amazing".

"Ah James you don't have to say that for my benefit", said Haruka "I try my hardest with what I've been given",

"Madam please don't sell yourself short", said the boy "You and Kanon are exceptionally good chefs".

"Maybe it depends on the person's perspective", said the lady "Have you ever had anything home cooked by your family?"

Images flashed in his mind. A little boy standing in front of two black silhouettes only discernible by their outlines which indicated one was male and the other was female. The boy reached out only to have his hand slapped aside. The two silhouettes turned him around to face a large black bulging shape. In the midst of that shape he could see blood red eyes and vicious smiles forming, each with sinister intentions, each with devious designs.

"No", he said calmly returning to his meal "Mom and dad kicked it when I was a kid. Been an orphan for most of my life"

James paused when he noticed the troubled expressions on their faces. "Sorry I don't want this to ruin the mood. Has Kanon told you about the newest commendation she received?"

"Oh that's right", said the girl in question surprised then turned to her mom with a shine in her eyes "Mom one of the missions I went on, the employer turned out to be a friend of a higher up in Fenrir. They were so happy that I was able to protect them from the aragami that I got a medal and a commendation for my good work".

"You should have seen the look on her face when one of the soldiers presented her with a medal", added James "She was like 'are you sure its me?' or 'I think you have the wrong person'".

"I am sorry I forgot to show it to you mom", said Kanon apologetically "I'll bring it over next time".

"Sure and I hope you'll be coming as well too James", said Haruka glancing to his direction and smiling kindly at him.

"As long as I'm not intruding or anything madam", he said

"James where were you?" asked Alisa upon seeing James and Kanon enter the lounge.

"I went out and had dinner", he replied casually "Kanon was kind enough to invite me to her mom's place and you know how I'm a sucker for home cooked good".

"Well I should get going and catch up on some work", said Kanon to the two "See you tomorrow James".

With a wave from her, the girl headed back to her room.

"How are things going on your end?" he asked Alisa

"Well unfortunately I haven't gone on any missions with the others", she said taking a seat on the sofa "I was thinking that we could go out on a mission together".

James unknowingly turned to his right arm and Alisa's expression fell. "Sorry I wasn't thinking and…"

"My arm is fine if that's what you're worried about", he said "Let's go tomorrow then. Hibari and I are working on mission packets for tomorrow. I'll be able to find a suitable one from the list."

Alisa woke up a little earlier than normal, wasting no time getting herself ready. She stopped by the cafeteria and made quick work of her breakfast before coming to the lounge. She was surprised to see Hibari sleeping on the nearby sofa with James sitting on the ground beside her, deep in sleep as well.

"James", she called out and the teenager snapped to attention then blinked a couple of times. He turned to the wall on the clock then realized how late it was. He woke up the girl beside her then headed up the stairs.

"James are you sure you're okay for today's mission?" she asked "We can reschedule if you like".

"I'm fine", he said half asleep then headed to the elevator.

With his newly upgraded god arc and his arm fully healed, James was eager to take out some aragami. He headed back to the lounge and chose a mission with Ogretails and a fallen chi-you waiting for them at the frozen temple.

"This time I want the mission to be only both of us", said Alisia surprising the teenager.

"Why?"

"Anxiety", she replied and James did not want to press the issue further. It seemed that Alisa was suffering from some kind of reluctance in using her god arc. However she felt comfortable around him to some degree so she probably believed that if it were only the two of them, she would be more inclined to fight.

"Alright then just the two of us", he said and the duo headed to the helicopter.

"Alisa will you be able to shoot?" he asked when they landed and were in their hiding spot. He was a bit relieved to see the girl nodding in agreement.

"Alright then here's the plan, you stay here and provide covering fire. I'll go out first and draw them all back here, sound good?"

"Yeah," said Alisa then held her god arc up, shifting it into gun mode "Be careful out there James".

"I always am", he said hopping out of the tower and heading out. The ogretails were pretty easy to dispatch. As he swung his god arc about, he could feel a slight twinge in his right arm but ignored it for now. It was not that bad and his recovery time had improved by about twelve hours which was good news for him.

Rounding a corner he noticed the fallen Kongou skulking about for no real reason. With a fire bullet equipped he bolted out of cover and fired at the thing multiple times, catching its attention. It attacked with the trademark roll attack and James ran away. He led it down the stairs, gathering closer to where Alisa was.

When he was in range, Alisa fired a barrage of bullets at the pursuing Kongou, allowing James to turn around and launch his counter attack. The monkey attacked him with a right arm but James parried it with his spear then attacked with a thrust to the chest. The monkey doubled back in pain and James smiled

'Props to Licca for the sweet new upgrade', thought James then vaulted over the Kongou and landed behind it. What surprised him was the monkey reacted to his attack and spun around, hitting James with its left hand and sent him barrelling into the wall. He hit with a heavy thud then landed on the soft ground.

"James", shouted Alisa but the teenager shot up like nothing happened. He wiped the single streak of blood coming down his face and charged forward. Alisa fired more and more shots at the target while James attacked it with a barrage of thrusts.

The monkey swung out again but this time, James leapt back and avoided its blow. The monkey then turned around and initiated a roll attack but this time it was aimed at the tower… where Alisa was. James was too late to stop it and the monkey crashed into the target, shattering the base of the tower.

Alisa stumbled forward, unable to keep her balance. She tried to grab onto the edge but was now barrelling towards the ground. She expected to land with enough force to knock her out but that never happened.

The girl opened her eyes and found her being held by James.

"Yo", he said looking at her then back to the enemy. His expression changed from calm to panicked as he turned to her and said "Sorry in advance".

Before Alisa knew it, James had tossed her to the side. Granted it did not hurt as much as a five storey drop but it surprised her all the same. She got to her feet in time to see why James threw her aside like that. The Kongou now rolled towards him and it was too late for him to react. This resulted in him being hit hard by the large aragami.

Alisa stood there frozen for a moment before a rage slowly welled up from her stomach. She yelled out loud and attacked the Kongou with a barrage of bullets from her gun. The monkey turned around and looked like it was about to attack when it suddenly roared in pain and stumbled forward, revealing the large gash it received on the side.

She turned to see James emerging from the wreckage, holding his god arc firmly in hand. The only troubling thing about this sight was the large piece of wood that went through and through his shoulder.

"Ah damn it", he said looking at the wound on his right side "I just recovered from this one".

Growling at his new wound, James set his weapon aside proceeding to yank the piece of wood out like it was nothing. Alisa stood slightly slack jawed at the action then saw him leap over the Kongou, land on its back, shifted to gun mode and fired into the cannon that was on its back. The attack worked, shattering the bonds that formed its gun and the Kongou moved back in pain.

"On my signal, fire everything you can at it's chest", he said turning to her then bolted towards the monkey. Alisa nodded in agreement and fired at the target pushing it back. James drew close then jumped up ready to attack.

The Kongou however noticed this and was about to attack with its left hand. Alisa shouted at James but did not notice that his spear was fully charged. Releasing the charge in his weapon, he suddenly shot forward with all the speed of a bullet suddenly being shot out of the gun. This sudden burst of speed caught the monkey off guard for only a second but that was all he needed. James thrust his spear forward, smiling a little when he saw it penetrate the target's head.

The monkey slumped forward and James took his spear out of the creature's head then walked back like nothing was wrong.

"I can't believe you did that", she said to him "Wait your arm".

Alisa proceeded to fire a few healing bullets at James "There that should keep you good for now. When we get back to the base you're going to have a doctor check that injury".

"But that's not a big deal", he said waving it off "I should be fine tomorrow".

"James", said the new recruit glaring at him and James found himself weakening under her gaze "You're going to the doctors".

"Fine", he said with an incredulous look.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow", yelled James then turned to Alisa.

"Stop whining and let me put this around you", objected Alisa trying to wrap the injured shoulder with medical tape.

Unfortunately when they arrived, the doctor was out on another call and Sakuya was sound asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, Alisa volunteered to take care of James' injury and the youth agreed.

"There we go", she said looking back while James put his shirt back on "That wasn't so bad right?" she asked with a smile but James did not meet her gaze.

"Yeah, sure I guess", he said nonchalantly "I think there was a little progress today. With any luck you'll be back to blasting aragami on your own soon enough".

"Um James", she said "Can I ask you something off topic?"

"Shoot"

"Do you and the others here hate me?"

"We don't hate you, but we do dislike you", he replied and her expression fell as a result "The reason is that when we first met you, you were cold and distant which was enough to keep nearly everyone at a distance. But as things stand you're proving that first impressions don't always count."

"Don't worry Alisa, I'm sure in time everyone will come to like you like I do and this whole mess will be just a bad memory", he added.

That last statement caused her face to redden a little in embarrassment. She did not want James to notice that so she excused herself and left the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

A past never forgotten

The fires threatened to reach the very moon itself. He stood there and watched the dancing flames flicker. Despite being so close to the flames he could not feel the heat on his face, he could not feel anything. He looked down and saw the piles and piles of bodies, more than half of which belonged to the depraved and disgusting residents of the facility that was now in flames.

The other half of the dead bodies was children. Children who had their entire lives ahead of them, children who had hopes, dreams and ambition, children who believed more than anything else that they would survive the nightmare they were in.

He knew their names, he knew the names of the adults; he knew them all because he killed them. A place where the twisted and corrupted ruled, a place of evil had finally been wiped off the planet, he should have felt happy; but he did not.

He looked at his bloodied hands and only now he could hear the other voice.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he yelled from behind "JAMES WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

He opened his eyes and remembered he was no longer there, he was alone in a room. There was no fire, there was no dead; there was only him and nothing else.

James slowly rose from his feet and looked at himself in the mirror. The more he stared at himself, the greater the anger inside him. Summoning whatever self-restraint he turned around and headed back to his room. He took a moment to collect himself once again.

It had been a while since those events played out when he slept. It would come now and then with no pattern in particular and every time it did, it reminded him of who he was; who he really was.

James made his way out of his room then stood outside Alisa's room. He knocked on the door a couple of times then waited for a moment before it opened. On the other side stood Alisa dressed in a long sleeved black t-shirt and black track pants.

"You ready?" she asked walking ahead of him

James nodded then said that Sakuya will be joining them for today's training. The duo headed to the training room, where Sakuya was waiting for them. Without wasting any time, the three bowed to each other then went on the offense

"How did you manage to dodge that?" asked Sakuya sitting on one of the sofas and posing the question to James who sat opposite her on a chair "I really thought I had you that time".

"I told you that in battle I'm able to focus my concentration to the point that I can sense any attack coming at me from a certain range", he replied. Just then Alisa came out of the elevators and handed the pair a glass of milk. She herself had a can of coffee then took a chair, sitting besides James.

"Hah really? That sounds like something you'd hear in one of those tv shows", mused the sniper

"It was still in it's basic form when I was training in the academy", he added "I should thank Kanon for getting me to perfect that skill".

"It's pretty scary when you think about it", said Alisa then turned to the boy "James does that mean you can never be surprised?"

"Not completely true", he said raising his index finger up "I only use that skill in missions because it can be mentally tiring. I can't use it all the time unless I was some savant or whatever".

"And Sakuya at least you two put up a decent showing, Tatsumi and Brendan went down like cheap paper bags after the first minute", he added

"Hey now that's not a nice thing to say about your friend", said Tatsumi coming up the stairs. On the opposite side was Brendan followed by Kanon.

Before James could say anything, Tatsumi and Brendan lifted James up by each arm then proceeded to drag him to the mission elevator.

"James…", said Sakuya

"Later guys", he said weakly to her and Alisa before being taken into the elevator by the defence team.

Sakuya sighed "That boy is far too nice sometimes", she said with a huff "I understand wanting to help others but he really needs to draw a line somewhere".

Alisa simply nodded instead of replying which was something that Sakuya certainly noticed.

"Hey is something wrong?" she asked and Alisa gave a meek reply.

"You think I'm still angry at you for what happened to Lindow right?" she asked and the new type nodded.

"Well it's true I was angry at you before but after hearing things from James, I don't blame you".

"Listen Alisa", she added putting a hand on the girls shoulder then said "We may have started off of on the wrong foot but I believe that the two of us can become good friends in time. What do you say to that?"

"Yeah," she said "I'd like that."

"How have I not seen one of these on earlier missions?" shouted James then leapt up to avoid the tail swing of a borg camlaan.

The aragami which seemed to be a mix of knight and scorpion released it's shield and let out a fierce roar before charging at James with its pointed tail aimed at him.

"This place hasn't seen much of them", said Tatsumi lobbing a flash bang "It's only in the past few weeks we've been seeing more of their kind"

"Well either way", said James rolling past it then turning around and firing at one of the six legs "I'm bringing it down.

Brendan yelled out and attacked straight away with a swing of his sword, causing the shield it used to shatter.

"Kanon 45-degree angle now", he yelled out and the pink haired shooter did that. She fired a shot at the right angle just as the aragami was about to leap up. This wound up hitting the thing in the face, causing it to fall down to the ground with a thud.

All four of them took chance of the opportunity and began wailing on the aragami. In a matter of minutes, the creature let out it's last cry before falling down to the ground, never to get back up.

"All's well that ends well", said James taking out a packet of chips from his jacket then proceeding to eat it.

The team headed back home without further delay.

"James I remember Kota or someone else saying that you had some knives in that jacket", said Tatsumi as they headed down the stairs "And now the chips, what else do you have packed?"

"Ah well a couple of things", he said with a laugh "I carry three kunais, each one made of oracle cells, a gun with anti aragami bullets and three magazines, a gas powered rappel gun in case I want to make a quick dodge, a portable telescope and chips in case I get peckish. OH and also a few flash bangs and some poison traps".

"Why do you have that much stuff?" asked Kanon taking a seat on the sofa

"It pays to be ready for most occasions", he replied with a shrug.

"James", said Hibrai coming out of one of the elevators "Glad I found you".

The girl walked over to James then handed him an envelope.

"Ah is this one of those love letters?" he asked casually and received two shots to the head from Tatsumi and Hibari.

"James you can't just say stuff like that", corrected Brendan

"I know, I was just pulling their legs", he said and flashed a cheeky grin to HIbari. James now turned back to the envelope and opened it. There were a few papers folded together which he opened up and read the first page.

His expression slowly shifted from happy to troubled.

"Is something wrong?" asked Hibari but James quickly tucked the papers into his jacket.

"It's nothing", he said returning to his earlier expression but it did not work, in fact all it did was concern the group more.

James headed up the stairs just as Kota came out of one of the elevators.

"Hey James I was thinking of watching some Bugarally tonight, you interested?" he asked with his usual smile.

"Sorry Kota, not tonight", he said apologetically "I have something else to do".

James now stood in an open part of the ruined city. There were no aragmi tonight so he didn't need to bring his god arc tonight. Next to him was a pile of dried wood clumped together.

Try as he might, he could not shake the feeling he was being watched. He momentarily considered not reading the letter but dismissed the thought.

The reason he was feeling slightly paranoid was because Alisa, Kota, Sakuya and Kanon had all followed him and were now in one of the shacks, looking at him through the window's trying to figure out what he was doing by coming here.

James took out the letter and silently read the content. He already knew who it was from since they agreed that this would be the only way they would communicate with each other.

 _Dear James,_

 _How are you? I hope you're doing well these day in your new assignment. Try to be a little more careful of your surroundings, after all you are a good looking boy and that's bound to attract some attention._

 _*ahem, that aside, I wanted to let you know that by the time you read this letter, I'm probably six feet under the ground. We both know this day was coming so I don't want you to leave everything you're doing and come see me alright. There is a reason why I'm writing you this letter and it's because I want you to know why I decided to assign you to the far east._

 _We had all known for a while that you had come from a terrible past, after all for a child to be able to fight like how you do must have cost you dearly at some point… but I never knew it was that terrible._

James paused and realized the implications. It seemed the old man and possibly the others all knew about his past.

 _Relax, out of respect for you none of us are going to bring it up so don't worry. Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand; your transfer._

 _For as long as I can remember you were forced to be something not even remotely human and even when you were with us, a team of monsters; you were no different. Now the rest of us are all adults; we've lived, we've loved and we've fought so it's no problem for us to take that plunge, but none of us wanted you to do the same. A child like yourself shouldn't be running around and fighting alongside people like us._

 _Now the world will never be like it was before but that did not change the fact that I wanted you to be around normal people, people your age so that slowly and steadily you would be free from that past and live the rest of your life as a human and not a weapon._

 _As such one of my final wishes is for you to live a long and happy life, unshackled from your past. Please excuse this old man for using such an outdated method of communication but this is the only way I imagined being able to convince you._

 _It has been an honour to fight alongside you for ten years and till my last breath I will always think of you as a son._

"Old man", said James taking out a match stick, striking it and tossing it onto the wood. The fire slowly grew larger and larger while James tore the pieces of paper that were the last words of an old friend.

The teen then tossed it into the fire along with a bottle of whiskey which made the fire burst out for a moment but it soon returned to normal.

James took in a deep breath then looked to the sky and shouted "OLD MAN, I HOPE THE AFTERLIFE IS FILLLLED WITH ALL THE BOOZE YOU CAN IMAGINE".


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

The Night out

James moved aside to dodge the projectiles then continued forward. He slid underneath the collapsing wall, narrowly avoiding getting his head lopped off then leapt more than a couple of metres over rotating saw blades before finally coming to a halt.

With a single tap on his bracelet the training simulation came to an end and he looked at this time display. Thanks to this, he had shaved off a good 5 seconds from his regular time. He looked down at his shirt and saw how it clung to him because it was drenched in sweat.

It had been a while since he trained himself this hard and it felt very relaxing ironically. He quickly took off his shirt and crushed it so that it would release some of the excess sweat. Once that was done he headed back to his room and changed into his uniform.

Once he was outside he met up with Shun, Karel and Gina then headed out for a mission. It was relatively normal seeing as they only needed to take care of a pair of flame and ice powered fish. The only real highlight came from when he threw Gina and Karel into the air, allowing them to assault the battlefield with a barrage of bullets. This gave Shun and him the chance to get in close and wail on their enemies.

Once they were sure the fish would not cause any trouble, James ran up one of the buildings then kicked against it just in time to catch Gina then hit the ground. Before Gina could say anything, James fired his rappel gun and shot upwards like a bullet, allowing him to catch Karel and bring him down safely.'

"I swear James", said Karel to the teen on the way back "Sometimes I get really scared when you're plans involve us leaping more than 100 feet in the air".

"It wasn't that bad", said James "And I'm sure you guys had a little fun too right?"

"I for one loved that fall after being tossed so high up", said Gina "Youre pretty strong arent you?"

James however was in his own world.

"Hey James", shouted Shun "You got a hot date tonight or something?"

"Huh no, not a chance, no way, not in a million years", he said doing everything he could to dismiss the thought "But I do have some work tonight"

"That so?" asked Karel sounding honestly interested "I don't think we're cleared for any night missions today, so I wonder what are you planning James?"

"Ah, well if you're interested then come to the ghettos tonight at 7.30", he replied "I'll be heading there myself once I get back so tell the others for me please. And by the way, if you're coming make sure to bring some food as well."

"And that's all he said?" asked Sakuya after hearing the story from Karel

"Well it sounds interesting so I passed the word around", he added "And by that I mean I told Kota. Word should have spread through the whole base by now".

"Still", said Alisa rubbing her chin "I wonder what he's planning to do".

"Now that I think about it", suggested Kanon "Mom told me that she'd seen James around the ghettos from time to time. He'd always be carrying some spare parts with him and even when she tried to call, he'd never hear her."

Everyone that were in the lounge (pretty much all the teams except Soma) all wondered what James had planned. From the start he was a hard working and diligent person who had always stayed on his toes and in light of the recent incident, he had risen to the challenge better than anyone had expected.

But at the same time no one knew much about him. Whenever anyone tried to bring up the topic of his past, he'd simply shrug it off by saying lines like "My past is far too boring guys" or "It's certainly no 'rags to riches' story. It's a pretty plain one that's bound to make everyone sleep".

In fact all the knew about him was that he lost his parents at a young age and entered Fenrir's accelerated programme in India. Everything else about him was a straight up mystery.

In the end the teams decided the best thing to do was wait till the appointed time and head to the location. As per James' requirement they all brought some food over, Sakuya being the only one in the group that brought something she made and not from the base's canteen.

When they arrived at the point in question, they found numerous planks of wood that were hollowed out at regular intervals to act as chairs. There were quite a few of them in place and soon enough the teams could see why.

When it came to 7.50 there was a crowd of people men, women and plenty of children who had taken their seats and were sitting patiently waiting.

"Kanon", said Haruka cheerfully and her daughter came to hug her "So you came for the show too?"

"What show?" asked the girl and the rest of the far east teams were equally curious

"Hmm", said the mother surprised then gave her a knowing stare "Well if you don't know I'm not going to ruin the surprise".

"EH?" said the daughter and Haurka simply rubbed her head then nodded to the others and left.

When it was exactly 8pm, they saw what looked like a large white tarp being unfurled before it was set on a stand. The tarp was large enough that everyone from front and back could see it clearly.

After that everyone saw James stand before the tarp and take a moment to clear his throat

"Good evening Ladies and gentlemen", he declared in a loud voice "Thank you all for coming today, as I know many of you have no idea what's going on so I appreciate you coming all the way here and bringing along some food as well."

"To put it simply we're going to watch something called a 'movie'. After that we're all going to sit together and share our dinners with everyone that's come"

"I don't want to keep anyone waiting so let's get this thing started", he said then played the video.

Everyone now started watching a video playing on the tarp. By the look of things it was an comedy movie with some action which really appealed to the crowd. They all cheered and booed at the right times and seemed honestly invested in the film.

After a few hours passed, it was over and now came the time to eat. It did not take long for the team to find James who was speaking to Mrs. Daiba with a smile on his face.

"Wow James did you make that moveye thing yourself?" asked Kota

"No nothing like that", he said "And it's called movie, I'm surprised you don't know this Kota.

"Well I only watch bugarally and those things are about 3 minutes long at most", he said "I can't believe they have videos that last two whole hours".

"I really liked that part with the robot facing the two evil robots in the forest", said Tatsumi "It was a whole lot of pulse pounding action to be honest."

"James I was wondering, what did you do to make it fit on that giant tarp?" asked Sakuya

"Well that was because I got my hands on a projector", he replied "It's a device our ancestors used back in the day. One day when I was going around here, I spotted Mrs. Daiba doing a little work and decided to help her out".

"Through some luck, we found this projector device", continued Haruka "James here recognized what it was and asked that I not tell anyone about it. Knowing from how Kanon spoke about him, I understood it was something important."

She turned to Kanon and said "Sorry for not telling you the whole story dear."

"Still I think it's a really nice idea", said Alisa looking at the people smiling, laughing and having fun "Doing this now and then might be exactly what everyone needed".


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: apologies for not doling them out at the regular rate. It's the Sunday before WWE Survivor series and my bro and I are getting ready for the live stream.

Lost edge

Despite having a fun filled night partying with the residents of the ghetto's, come daybreak it was time to clock in and go back to work once again. After he has finished his training session with Alisa, James selected the team for today's mission, the only surprise to everyone was that Alisa was on the group.

"You sure about this?" asked Soma taking his god arc out of its place "That girl…"

"Has significantly improved and I think it's time she go out in the field", interrupted James looking at the god arc which had now changed spear blades. He learned that besides having a base attribute weakness, all aragami had an elemental weakness. Considering that they were facing a vajra and a Pritvi mata today, he opted for a spear blade with divine and fire attributes to help the mission along.

James also took a moment to check his personal inventory to make sure he was stocked up for today then met with Kota and Alisa. Kota simply greeted him with a smile while Alisa looked incredibly nervous about today's mission.

Before leaving Alisa glanced back at Sakuya who simply nodded to the recruit. Alisa took a breath, steeling herself so that she'd be ready and not have the jitters like she had in previous missions.

When they arrived at the mission area, James suggested the team split up and search for their targets. Kota and Soma were on one team with Alisa and James on the other. Each team spotted a vajra at their location and James decided it was best to take care of them separately. Given the size and destructive power a single one of them had, it would be a pain to fight two at once.

James landed feet first against a wall then propelled himself forward, swinging down when he was near the vajra. Alisa momentarily wondered how a teenager was able to perform a near ninja like move but she quickly dismissed such thoughts as it was after all James; a teen who has proven to have above average physical skills. She fired a barrage of bullets at the target while James hammered away at it's fore legs. This caused the creature to slump forward a little and the duo descended on it like a pack of wolves.

It did not take too long for them to finish it off. Once that was done, the two of them told Soma and Kota on the radio that they'd be coming to provide backup but found that there was no need for it. They too had already finished their target so instead they decided to meet in the open field nearby.

The four of them took a moment to catch their breath then looked around, all wondering the same thing.

"You think there was a mistake from intel?" asked Kota looking around

"HIbari never makes mistakes", said James sternly "Eyes peeled and heads on a swivel".

The team looked around a little more then checked their map and neither showed any signs of the aragami.

James furrowed his brow upon seeing this then shouted "Everyone move NOW!"

At his yell, all four of them dove in separate locations, narrowly avoiding the newest aragami making an entrance by slamming the ground, causing numerous ice spikes to shoot out from its location.

"James how did you…"

"It must hiding outside the range of our sensors that's how none of us noticed it".

"Then how did you know where it was?" shouted Soma

"I figured that an opportunity where all four of its targets in one place was not something that you could pass up", he replied "It had to attack at some point so I just guessed it".

"And turns out you were right", said Soma cracking his knuckles "Well let's not waste anymore time".

Those with guns switched to fire bullets and attacked. James and Alisa both switched back to their blade forms, drew in close with James attacking it head first while Alisa came on the sides. She was backed up by Soma who hit it on the other side while Kota carefully watched and covered any opening in the attack pattern.

James parried an arm swipe with his spear then turned it around and hit the aragami with the base of his spear. Soma took advantage of this and ran up the length of the spear, leapt up and landed on the back of the aragami where he processed to rip apart whatever bonds he could find.

The female faced monster roared in anger as it leapt up reaching an incredible height then landed and produced a shockwave, knocking Kota back a little. Alisa switched to a healing bullet while James threw a paralysis trap which disabled the aragami's movements momentarily. Soma approached the target from the other side and together, the two swung their blades at the aragami's head greatly lowering it's visibility and nearly shattered the porcelain like mask that made it look almost human.

The two were joined by Kota and Alisa then resumed the attack. James charged his spear, all the while waiting for his golden chance. That came when Alisa and Soma shattered the bonds in its front legs and forced it to stand on it's hind legs alone. Taking advantage of this, James shot forward then released the charge in his spear but this time instead of releasing the spear and letting it shoot forward like an arrow of death, he held onto his weapon and unleashed a flurry of high speed thrusts at the aragami's underside landing blow after blow till finally one of them pierced through most of the body and emerged on the other side.

James turned around and swung his spear forward, the blade tore through the hole it created and emerged as it cut the aragami's face in half to ensure that there was no way it could be getting back up.

"Whoa James that's a pretty cool move you pulled out", said Kota coming towards him and greeting his friend with a high five.

"I thought of it at the last minute, I swear this spear only gets better and better the more I use it", he mused then turned to the others "Come on guys let's do one more quick search in case we missed out some nice valuables then head back home.

The three before him nodded and did as their leader had asked.

Alisa thought of going through the cathedral but the memories of what happened the last time, prevented her from doing so. She simply turned around and decided to take the long way around to meet back with the team. The girl noticed James coming out on the opposite side and he waved to her. Alisa slowly made her way to her leader but noticed a Vajra standing in one of the buildings, its eyes set on James. To make matters worse, he did not notice it and the vajra leapt off the building, intending to kill its target with one strike.

With no other options available to her, Alisa converted to gun mode and fired a barrage of bullets at the vajra. James quickly realised what was going on and took out the gun from his jacket then fired two bullets which hit the target right in the eyes. The vajra tried to flail about but now that it was blind, it posed no threat. James came forward thrusting his spear which tore through the underside of its head and emerged on top.

Soma and Kota quickly came back when they heard the sound of gunfire but it was too late. By the time they got back, the aragami lay lifeless on the ground a threat to no one.

"Damn," said Kota "So I guess that's it right, unless we have another one popping up"

"I don't think so, radio the helicopter and let's go home", said James and turned to Alisa "Thanks for that one, the one time I decide to lower my guard happens to be the one time those things try to jump me".

"I think I'd be going home in a body bag if not for you," he added "Thanks Alisa".

"I couldn't stand by and watch it happen again", she said looking at him while her eyes were slightly misty "I didn't want to lose anyone else I cared about".

"Well said", said Kota and the team headed back home. On the helicopter the boys noticed that Alisa had seemingly fallen asleep, evident by the way she was resting her head on James' shoulders and had an peaceful expression on her face. Not wanting to disturb her, James said that he'd take her to her room when they got back.

"Did something happen?" asked Sakuya worriedly when she saw James carrying Alisia inside.

"This? Nah no big deal", he said "She's just a little tired after overcoming her anxiety, that's all".

Sakuya's expression relaxed a little then she crossed her arms and smiled at her friend saying "And Prince charming just happened to be there when his beloved needed her?"

"Huh? That's not what this is at all", he said "Alisa and I are definitely not a couple".

On hearing this, Alisa simply groaned in defiance then turned her head a little so that she was closer to James' chest. She breathed in and out a couple of times then smiled again.

"I think she begs to differ", said Sakuya with a cheeky grin and James simply shrugged it off, not wanting to add more fuel.

He set Alisa down on her bed, making sure to do it as gently as possible and not wake her up. When he slowly moved away, he could hear the sound of a zip being undone. Curious, James turned around and saw that some of the thread of his jacket was caught on Alisa's zip and him moving caused the zip to move further up.

Her already revealing outfit became even more revealing causing James to turn a bright red and force him to turn away. This of course only caused her zip to go up a little more and that was not what he wanted.

He had no problem facing five large aragami alone but this caused sweat to pour down James' head. Taking a breath, he slowly and carefully took off his jacket then placed it on Alisa's sleeping form. Content that he had narrowly avoided a scene that only happens in those animated features Kota always talks about, James turned around on one foot and headed right out the door without further delay.

AN: ok so that was fun with a little fluff and some relationship development. The next chapter is one that never happened in the game but one I thought would be fun to include so it might take a while to get up. As always thank for reading.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Midnight Dance

The sound of the siren this late at night was definitely cause for concern. It was no problem for James to get up as he had only just finished his bath and changed into some clothes for the night. He quickly put on his uniform then headed outside where he spotted Kota.

"Dude what's going on?" he asked

"Not sure, I only just came out".

"Attention, this is a level 5 emergency", said Hibari's voice through the speakers "All god eaters are to report in the briefing room immediately."

"Sounds bad", said James then turned to Kota "Get the defence team; I'll get the recon and the retaliation team".

The boy nodded and the two went in their separate ways.

It came as no surprise to James that waking up the rest of the teams was difficult seeing as they were all sound asleep at 2am. He wondered why Kota was up so early then decided not to as him being there made James' job a little easier. After spending more than fifteen minutes waking up Shun, Karel and Gina he went to the remaining members. He found it lucky that Soma of all people was actually still awake at this time at night. He informed his teammate of what's going on then headed to Sakuya's room.

Once the two veterans were awake, James went to Alisa's room and was surprised to see Kota coming towards him with Alisa right behind.

"I was able to get the others up quickly so I came here to help you out", he said "Sorry I took so long though, Alisa was…"

He didn't want to finish the sentence. All James did was peer behind him and see the girl still rubbing the sleep from her eyes to understand that Kota must have had a hard time waking her up.

"By the way dude", he said "Why is she wearing your jacket?"

James quickly remembered the incident that caused him to leave his jacket with her and did not want to discuss it right now "Gh… we can talk about that later", he said looking away "Come on, we have pressing issues to deal with".

Nodding in agreement the trio headed to the briefing room. When they got there, they found everyone seated and waiting with Tsubaki and Sakaki at the front. The trio took their places at the last seat and the commander started her briefing.

"At exactly 1.55am this morning we've had reports from our North, north east and south sections of the wall that large groups of aragami have broken through. Luckily the boots on the ground reacted quickly and are in the process of evacuating the people in the immediate areas however the speed at which they're evacuating citizens is not enough to keep up or exceed the tide of aragami's coming in."

"Our job will be to act as decoys allowing the people to be moved to much safer locations. Once that objective is achieved all teams will switch from defence to attack and drive the aragami out."

"James, you have proven time again to be an asset on the field and have advanced significantly in the time you've been here. As such I am giving you complete control over troop deployment and team assignments", she added.

While it made sense tactically, many were surprised that their newest and freshest of recruits had been given such a huge responsibility. All god eaters present looked around for a moment eventually finding James who said nothing for the moment. He simply got out of his chair then stood along with Tsubaki and Sakaki.

"I want the defence team to take care of the north. Kanon your job is to take out the aragami in the rear while Brendan and Tatsumi will harass their front lines. The north east section will be handled by the recon unit. Shun and Karel will work in tandem and take out the less hazardous aragami while protecting Gina who will snipe out the more dangerous types. The retaliation team will handle the south. Alisa and I will work together to weaken their front lines and Kota will pick off any stragglers while also keeping our backs safe."

"Soma and Sakuya will remain on the reserve unit", he added which came as a big surprise to nearly everyone present "Out of everyone here the two of you are our senior most god eaters and have the most experience taking out aragami's. To that end I want you to stay here and observe the flow of battle then provide assistance in the areas where you deem are necessary."

The two simply nodded in agreement seeing as this was the best plan they had at the moment.

"Alright everyone, nothing gets past you. I don't need to remind everyone what happens if we let even a single ogretail get past our defences", he declared "You have your missions, go out there and remember, heads on a swivel, stay frosty and let's all make it back here alive".

All present nodded then left the room with only Sakaki, Tsubaki and James remaining.

"Is there something else James?" asked the acting director.

"There is something else I need to speak to you about".

After five minutes inside, James left the briefing room to meet with Kota and Alisa who were already armed and ready for the mission.

"What happened?" asked Alisa "Did they have something more to tell you?"

"Just hashing out a couple of things", said James then went and retrieved his spear.

"You ready?" asked Sakuya when she saw James and he simply nodded. The teams left one after the other in the jeeps waiting for them.

"Alright gang sound off", declared James into his communicator

"Defence team here, we're thirty from the mission zone", said Tatsumi

"Recon team here, we'll reach the zone in fifteen minutes", said Karel

"Retaliation team, our eta's twenty minutes", said James

He turned around and noticed that despite the determined looks on his teammates face, they seemed visibly worried and they had every reason to be. This was the first time the aragami have launched a co-ordinated attack and the mission area itself had low visibility.

"What's your favourite drink?" he asked suddenly surprising the two.

"Huh?" asked Kota

"What's your favourite drink? Or what's the one drink you've always wanted to try?"

"Um… well I guess I want to try whiskey", said Kota scratching his cheek hesitantly.

"Vodka", said Alisa

"Huh?" asked James

"I know, lived in Russia but never had a glass in my whole life", said Alisa pursing her lips and smiling a little "It's just one of those things".

"Well when we get through this mission, I'll make sure to take you out for drinks", said James "I found a stash that belonged to a certain someone so don't worry".

"James, do you think we're going to win this?" asked Alisa which was the question on everyone's minds.

"We are", he said without a moment of thought

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I said so", he replied as the car slowly came to a halt.

"All teams are in position", said Hibari "The mission will now commence".

"Time for operation 'Dancing in the Pale Moonlight'"

AN: a night attack? What's going on here? Well I wanted to have some more action taking place but it just felt wrong to end it just as things are picking up. Next chapters going to be intense for all sides so read, enjoy and hopefully review it.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

One Wild Night

The mission was underway and all three teams were neck deep in their missions. The teams stayed to their plans and were able to stem the initial tide of attackers. But now that the small aragami were dealt with, they now had to deal with the larger and much stronger aragami.

"Status update?" asked Hibari

"Tatsumi here", he said "We're holding the line as best as we can but there's no end to them."

"Karel here", he said "I think some of our attackers are now heading to south side. Tell the others to be careful".

"James here, they keep pushing forward but we're not letting them get past. What about the evacuation?"

"We've had some volunteers lend a helping hand", said the red head "Thanks to that we're able to kick up our efforts by another twenty percent."

James nodded at that then took a breath as he thrust his spear and ripped through a few ogretails.

"Kota, focus your attention on Alisa and keep her safe", he said "I'm going in deeper".

"James if you do that they'll all come after you", shouted his teammate.

"That's the point", he said with a smile and leapt over a kongou's fist then shot a few rounds at a quadriga. There were a few gboro's that took this chance and shot him with flame, wind and fire bullets. James did dodge a couple of them but there were a few that hit him in his chest and his back, knocking him aside.

"James", shouted Alisa momentarily lowering her weapon. An ogretail saw this chance but Kota launched a barrage of bullets which quickly dispatched it.

"I'm fine", shouted James on the communicator "I'm going in deeper to try and thin the herd."

With another swing of his blade he cut down more aragami. He charged his spear then jumped up and released the charge, causing him to rapidly spin around in circles, dispatching anyone that tried to come close. Once in the air, he switched to gun mode and fired at as many fish as he could. He landed on the back of a monkey then ran his spear through the beast before leaping over aragami after aragami, getting closer and closer to a quadriga. The tank saw him and opened its chest about to fire a trio of missiles at its attacker. All projectiles fired at James who unfortunately was in the air at the time.

James grit his teeth as he crashed into the ground, not wanting to worry the others. He quickly shot back to his feet and sliced the feet off some monkeys then swung his spear in an upwards motion and attacking with swing after swing in all directions, making it impossible for his attackers to get close to him.

He looked up in time to see three tanks hovering high up in the air for a few moments before coming down with all the force of a three story building. James ducked and weaved his way through the mass of oracle cells, narrowly avoiding their attack. The last one though reacted faster than expected and released the missiles on its side, all of which hit their target.

As he got to his feet, he heard Sakuya and Soma on his communicator

"This is Sakuya I'm heading to your position Tatsumi, hold the line", she declared

"Don't die on me you got that recon team?" warned Soma as he now left to provide back up to the team.

He turned around then ran back through the swarm of attackers where he found Kota and Alisa slowly being pushed back. He darted forward with all the speed of a rabbit being chased by an eagle till he was ahead of the pack. When that was done he turned around, switched to gun mode and fired at as many aragami as he could.

One good thing was that his plan worked. The aragami that were pushing Kota and Alisa back had now stopped their advance. The bad thing was that now they focused their attention on James who simply smiled at them and continued firing till they were close enough.

He switched to spear mode and attacked with thrust after thrust, taking out a small chunk of the front line forces then charged his spear and pointed it to the ground which sent him high up into the air.

Once up there; he fired another barrage of bullets and those on the ground, (particularly the vajras and prithvi matas) and his enemies on the ground retaliated by attacking with their own long range projectiles. Now descending, James dodged past as many of the projectiles he could and destroyed any that got too close with a swing of his spear.

This however proved a vital distraction as one of the monkey barrel rolled up the back of a tank and crashed into James with all the power of an out of control SUV. James now hit the ground with a heavy thud, which was definitely not a welcome sight to his teammates.

As they were about to go there and try to save him, they saw numerous aragami being flung into the air one after another.

"Do not abandon your positions", said James to them through the communicator "Stay where you are and cut down any stragglers. I'll take care of their bulk forces".

"Damn it this is bad", said Sakuya "There are more of them attacking us".

"How many?" asked Hibari

"Too many", replied Soma "At this rate we won't be able to hold this line any longer".

"Kota and Alisa, go to where Sakuya and Soma are and provide them back up", shouted James all of a sudden, shocking everyone on the field.

"James are you crazy?" shouted Tatsumi first

"If we go there then you'll have to face them all on your own", continued Kota "That's equal to digging your own grave".

"We don't have any other option", he said running his spear through a pair of fish "Look we can't afford any of our positions fall so just go there for now, push the enemy back and have all units converge on my location".

"That's impossible", shouted Sakuya "James you can't face them all on your own".

"It's not a question of can or can't", he shot back dispatching a line of aragami with a storm of bullets "Just do it, that's an order".

The two in question stood silently gritting their teeth as James now had the attention of all the aragami on the South side.

Alisa let out a cry of frustration before tightening her grip on her god arc and saying "Fine but you better promise not to die".

"Don't worry", he said jumping up as multiple aragami jumped up after him. James spun around in the air and killed them all before landing "I have way too many things to do and dying's not one of them".

Believing that burst of bravado, Alisa and Kota immediately turned around and headed to their new destinations.

Back at the base, Hibari quietly monitored the situation unfold watching the teams scramble around trying to turn the tide.

It was at this time she noticed a warning sign flashing at the bottom and a chill ran down her spine. She was about to press the communicator when Sakaki grabbed her hand and prevented her.

Confused by this, she looked at Sakaki and found one of those rare moments where the once jovial and carefree doctor looking serious. He did not say a word to her at all, instead he simply met her gaze and shook his head.

The colour drained from Hibari's face as she now said "No".

"It's the only option", he said in a grim tone.

"Hibari?" asked Tatsumi on the communicator "Is something wrong?"

As much as she wanted to answer him, the stern and no nonsense look on her boss' face told her that she could not tell the truth.

"Don't worry about me Tatsumi", she said "Just focus on completing your mission".

"Will do", he said with a determined voice "And when we're done why…"

She cut him off before he could complete his sentence as the girl now stared daggers into her boss. Sakaki on the other hand simply ignored her and turned his attention to the ongoing fights.

AN: what could be going on? Will they survive the tide of enemy attacks or will they fall? Stick around to find out more.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Turning the tide

Alisa went to back up Sakuya and the defence team while Kota went to aid Soma and the recon team. Kota joined Karel on the front lines and whittled the enemy front lines, allowing Soma and Shun to capitalize on any openings. Slowly and steadily even the bigger and more dangerous types of aragami were being pushed back.

On the other side Alisa Tatsumi and Brendan carved their way through the enemy lines while Kanon harassed the enemy with mortar fire and Sakuya picked off any aragami that passed the front line. It was now they noticed that five to six tanks had lined up at the rear then opened their missile packs and fired a barrage aimed at the front line.

"Shields up", yelled Alisa and the front line were able to mitigate the damage caused from the attack.

Sakuya and Kanon both noticed a trio of Vajra making their way through the enemy ranks. When they were close enough, all three of them attacked at once and destroyed the line of Kongou's that were at the front line. Alisa, Brendan and Tatsumi were taken back by this for a moment and one of the Vajra made use of this opportunity by leaping up and hitting the ground, creating a field of electricity around it which sent the trio flying back till they all hit the wall of a building.

"Guys", shouted Kanon then turned back to her enemies with a furious look in her eyes. Without wasting a second, she pelted the enemy with shot after shot and did not stop until the front line was covered in a thick smoke.

The two shooters paused for a moment. That would be a mistake on their part as this allowed half a dozen fish to stand at the front line and let loose a barrage of projectiles which hit their intended target. Sakuya and Kanon were able to leap off and land safely away but now they saw the three Vajras from before getting closer and closer.

The shooters breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Tatsumi and Alisa attack the two Vajras while Brendan trapped the third one. He ran forward then swung his buster blade, lopping off the Vajras left leg. The Vajra roared back in pain then created multiple electric orbs and fired them off to buy itself some time to recover. It took a few steps back but Kanon was unrelenting. She fired multiple shots which hit the aragami on its back, breaking the bonds it had and severely weakening it.

"Do not let them gain the advantage", shouted Sakuya "We have to push them back no matter what".

Sakuya and Kanon nodded to each other then slowly went forward and shooting as much of their targets as they could. Thanks to that they were able to drive the enemy forces back. This in turn caused Alisa, Tatsumi and Brendan to redouble their efforts as they now attacked the Vajras with a new found ferocity.

On the other side Kota and Karel's constant barrage of fire, they were able to provide Shun and Soma with plenty of openings to push the enemy back. Any aragami that tried to attack with an aerial attack were quickly taken care of by Gina.

"I love how they all go 'splat' when I shoot them", she said with a giggle and continued to fire.

The comment certainly worried the attackers a little bit but they were quick to shrug it off.

"Kota, Karel", shouted Soma while shattering the bonds of multiple aragami in front of him "Get here quickly and we'll push them back together".

The two nodded and formed up with Kota and Karel at the front and Shun and Soma on the sides. In this formation, the two shooters hit the front lines with a barrage of merciless fire which cut through the enemy lines. This of course caused the aragami to move to the sides right in range of Soma and Shuns blades. The two veteran god eaters were quick to dispatch any stragglers as more and more aragami attacked them.

"This is groundhog 1 to base", said one of the soldiers to Hibari.

"This is base here, what's the situation over there groundhog 1?" asked the operator

"We've completed the evacuation base. Aside from a few injuries that occurred during the evac, we've suffered minimal casualties and no loss of life".

"That's good to hear", said Tsubaki with a sigh of relief "All teams this is base, make those aragami regret ever picking a fight with the far east".

"Base to groundhog 1, just one more question which direction did you come from?" asked Hibari

"We came from the South side," replied the soldier

"And you never encountered any aragami?"

"None at all base. Have to admit, that retaliation team is pretty tough".

"Thanks," said Hibari then closed the communicator and turned to Sakaki. The acting director looked back at her, his expression resolute but also remorseful then closed his eyes and said "Pray that you will never have to make the same decisions I do".

"Keep going", declared Sakuya to the team "We're almost done here guys".

With each swing of the blade, more and more aragami fell. The news that all the people were now safe only served to galvanize their efforts. Feeling a second wave coming over them, Alisa, Tatsumi and Brendan carved a path through the aragami standing in their way and would not stop till they reached the other side.

Numerous tanks tried firing missiles at them only to have their projectiles picked off by Sakuya. Kanon fired a barrage of mortar shots into the air and annihilated all the tanks allowing the front line to increase the pace of their attack. Alisa let out a furious cry as she swung her blade out, cleaving a monkey in half then shifted to gun mode and fired at all the chi yous that were right behind. She went back to her blade form then thrust her weapon forward, the blade tearing through a few ogretails in the process.

She jumped up, landing on the back of a monkey then leapt from aragami to aragami. She saw a Vajra leap up and try to attack her but she quickly swung her sword out, landing a deep blow on its underside. The aragami crashed into the ground while Alisa landed and did not let up on the attack. She lobbed a few flash grenades into the air, causing the aragami around her to get blinded momentarily.

Taking this opportunity she spun around in a circle, dispatching all the aragami around her then saw Tatsumi slash his way towards her. Brendan leapt up and ran his sword through an enemy fish's head.

The trio stood back to back then charged forward attacking like no tomorrow. Each one of them made carefully executed strikes and slashes, whittling away at anything which dared to stand in their path. As if that was not enough, the aragami in the rear were being attacked by the two shooters making it impossible for them to advance even a single step.

It was only after Alisa downed a tank single handedly that she realized what was going on…

All of a sudden the aragami which were attacking were now retreating.

For a moment, all five of the god eaters involved were shocked and wondered if what they were seeing was real or not. But as seconds ticked by and gave way to minutes, the swarm of monsters that seemingly came out of nowhere were slinking back into the blackness of the night.

At this point only one voice broke through the silence and it did not belong to any of them.

"Hey guys", said Karel hesitantly "Are the aragami in your location leaving?"

"Yeah," said Kanon. Suddenly Sakuya snapped out of her daze and asked "Karel what about you guys?"

"Totally fine", said Soma instead of Karel "All of a sudden they stopped attacking and turned tail to run".

"Then that means…"

"We won", shouted Kanon as loud as she possibly could "I can't believe it,"

"Yeah that was one hell of a win", said Tatsumi "Good job guys, good job recon team and good job Hibari".

"Hey", said Soma to Sakuya while both teams were doling out congratulations "Don't you find it a bit weird?"

"Them suddenly leaving like that?" asked Sakuya "To be honest, for any aragami to employ strategy is impossible…"

"Then all the more reason we should be worried right?"

Sakuya wanted to say something but instead she noticed Tatsumi's voice growing louder and louder in concern "Hibari, what's wrong?"

"You *sniff need to head to *sniff the south side now".

A chill ran down everyone's spines, instantly remembering that there were not two avenues of attack, there were three.

"At this rate", said Hibari no longer able to hide the tears "At this rate he's going to die".

Little drops of blood fell from both his hands, the cuts on his face and his eyelids created a kind of 'red mask' that impaired nearly all of his vision. His breathing had become ragged, his legs began to weaken because of the multiple injuries it had and he was bleeding from numerous wounds and puncture holes across his chest.

James let out a long sigh tightening his grip on his spear. He looked up for a moment, taking in the night sky then looked straight on ahead.

"Looks like I might be in trouble", he said with an amused grin as he slowly walked towards the sea of aragami that waited for him.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

The lightning Emperor

James skidded back after his latest attack was successfully handled by the enemy aragami.

He had been able to hold his own for a long time against the low ranked aragami like the monkeys and the fish, but all of that changed when the enemy showed signs of organized movement. The tanks had formed a firing line in the rear and pelted his area with missiles with each minute passing.

The teen remembered during his orientation that the clothes they wore were specifically designed to handle both hot and cold temperatures while also being able to absorb most aragami attacks but there was a catch. As with any armour in the world, there is bound to be a limit to how much damage it could take and James' clothes were well past their limitations. The wounds he sustained were too much for him to bear but one look at how he wildly charged the front lines and anyone would easily believe that he was not at all hurt.

James swung his spear out and dispatched a few aragami in front of him. A couple of Vajra quickly covered the hole in their line and attacked with a swipe of their claws but he reacted by swinging his spear upwards and deflecting their attacks. In that moment he switched to gun mode and fired at the both of them.

At this point he noticed the four floating aragami open their hands. Each of them fired five beams of concentrated energy at James. He dashed back and avoided most of them but the last beam went through the base of his foot causing him to falter a little bit.

He looked at them and charged his spear then pointed it to the ground and propelled him upwards into the air. From there he held his spear out as far as possible then swung out and attacked the closest of the floating aragami. The angelic looks aragami's leg bonds were shattered and it hovered back to get some distance. James however did not allow it a chance to breathe and pointed his charged spear backwards and drew closer to the floating aragami.

When he was close enough he thrust his spear forward, the blade tearing through the aragami's chest. With a yell of defiance he was able to throw the floating aragami into one of it's comrades and sent them both crashing into the ground.

James shifted into gun mode firing at everything below him and not noticing the shadow that came upon him till it was too late.

James hit the ground with a heavy thud, creating a small shockwave as he landed while before him, the leader of the aragami attack landed on the ground and took its place at the front of the army.

The only human slowly got back to his feet, looking at the three deep claw marks on his chest. He now looked at the black aragami that stood before him. The creature had a similar design to the Vajra and the Pritvi mata but this one had black fur with something akin to a gold cloak on its back. Besides that it had claws that at least twice as larger than most aragami its size and it had the face of an old man with a medium length grey beard.

"Well, well now", said James with a cocky attitude "You must be the top dog in charge of this little coalition. I have to say, I'm honestly surprised and honoured that you'd personally come here to take down little old me".

As he said that he also bowed towards it and the black aragami simply roared at him in response.

"That really does put a lot more pressure on me though", he said taking out his last healing syringe and jabbing it into his neck. He pressed the depressor, letting the contents enter his body and healed some of the less dangerous injuries as well as slowing down the flow of blood to all his wounds.

"Of course on the flipside it does mean that if I can take you down, this whole night comes to an end", he said

Tightening his grip on the spear he charged forward at the black aragami and it too replied in the same way. When they were close enough however, its speed dramatically increased. James could barely react in time and was only able to hold his spear up which only slightly decreased the force of the attack. The attack from the aragami sent him crashing through multiple buildings till he came to a halt.

James groaned in pain as he slowly got to his feet. Unfortunately the black aragami appeared before him then attacked with a swipe of its paw. James rolled away in time to avoid it then got to his feet and attacked with a straight thrust of his spear. The weapon pierced the aragami's side, causing it to roar in pain and attack with another swipe of the paw. James leapt up and avoided it then landed on its back but the aragami was ready for this and quickly knocked James off its back. While he was in the air, the aragami shot forward, crashing its head into James' body the impact being equivalent to getting hit by a boulder.

James coughed up some blood before hitting the ground. The aragami slowly walked towards its prey but moved its head aside at the last second to avoid a bullet that simply grazed the side of its face.

"Now I know why you look so familiar", said James slowly rising to his feet and wiping the blood on his face, displaying a ferocious smile

"We've never met face to face before but I can definitely recognize your presence. You were there when I had to abandon one of my teammates weren't you?"

Though he spoke to the aragami, he also knew it could not reply in the same way he did. The only thing the aragami did was roar at him and assume a defensive stance.

"So you were the one that killed him," said James slowly walking towards his target "Good, now I'm even more motivated than before".

The aragami sped up at the last moment but this time James fired its shot when it passed him, allowing him to land a wound on its back and propel him out of harm's way. The creature skidded back then leapt up about to attack James but he thrust his spear out, jabbing it in the base of its front foot.

James smiled as both of them hit the ground then charged forward and attacked each other like a pair of wild animals.

"You're kidding me", shouted Alisa into her communicator causing Sakuya to lose a step but he quickly recovered. The veteran looked back and confirmed that Tatsumi, Brendan and Kanon were not that far behind.

"He hasn't answered his communicator since you all split up and its worrying me to no end", said Hibari "What makes this worse is that we're now detecting a very powerful aragami in the location James is".

"That's most probably the leader of the pack", interjected Sakaki "My guess is the aragami must have noticed how one human was able to hold back all of its forces so it decided to personally take care of him."

Sakaki looked even more concerned as he added "By the readings this thing is giving off, its easy to believe that this is a very powerful aragami type so you need to head over there and provide assistance to James."

As she said that Alisa and the team ran around a corner and noticed Soma and Kota leading the recon team to the same location.

"This is Soma, we've met up with the defence and the rest of the retaliation team", he said pressing his communicator "We're now heading to the location".

'You'd better be fine when we get there', thought Alisa unable to shake the uneasy feeling she'd had in her gut ever since James gave that order to her and Kota.

The two combatants skidded back from the force of their latest clash. The black aragami now displayed a pair of bladed wings which only served to make it tougher. James on the other hand bore more injuries than before; some of course came from being caught off guard by his opponent's newest weapon.

His free hand slowly came up to his face and he wondered whether or not it'd be a good idea to use his trump card. It was then he remembered the words of the old man and how he wanted James to be free from his past self. In the end the only thing he could do was dismiss the thought. He looked straight at his opponent and noticed the multiple wounds that he was able to inflict during the course of their battle.

Based on the wounds that it sustained, he could tell that the aragami wanted to end this fight and in his mind he agreed. The effects of the medicine he took had long since worn off and the amount of blood he lost was starting to get to him despite his best efforts.

The two of them seemingly of one mind let out a defiant roar and charged forward. The aragami attacked with another swipe but James deflected it. The aragami then jumped back and turned it's body around so that it's wings would come straight for James head but he ducked down to avoid it then slid forward and pierced it on its side. Before it could react though, James shifted to gun mode and fired a bullet at the newly created wound and saw it go through the target, emerging out the other side.

The aragami roared out in pain and attacked James by pouncing into the air intending to land and create a shockwave of energy in the process. James jumped back and avoided it but the aragami quickly went on the offensive once again and charged forward with its left wing aimed at the target. James reacted too late to this and when the aragami came to a halt a few meters behind James, the teenager's side burst open letting out a spray of blood.

James clutched his side, gritting his teeth in pain as the aragami looked like it was about to attack again. The black aragami pawed the ground and would have attacked when it suddenly noticed something appear behind James.

The creature also had black fur but that's where the similarities ended. Like it's opponent, the creature stood on two legs, it's face took the shape of a wolf with blue eyes and a row of fangs that could shatter steel with a single bite. It had no actual chest but in its place was a swirl of ominous blue energy that would send shivers down everyone's spine. The most noticeable feature was that the creature carried a long scythe with a sharp blade at the end.

The aragami paused, perhaps wondering if what it was seeing was real. James on the other hand stood his ground, a menacing expression on his face as he silently taunted the creature to come at him. At this point it did not matter how badly injured he was or how much blood he lost. If he could kill that black aragami then all of this would be worth it.

"JAMES!", shouted a voice all of sudden, snapping out of his thoughts. He turned in the direction of the voice and saw Alisa, Sakuya and the rest of the defence team arrive. They looked around for a moment before turning to James and were horrified at the sight. He heard another gasp and saw Kota, Soma and the recon team had also arrived looking just as horrified as the others were.

It occurred to him that his beaten and bloodied form was not a problem in his personal opinion but something like this is sure to unsettle perhaps even scare others.

Unfortunately this lapse in form was something that the aragami picked up on as it charged its energy into two fine points then released it. Alisa cried out to James but it was too late.

All he felt was something pass through him at first. It was only when he looked at his already badly wounded chest, did he see the two electric lances that pierced his body. It came as no surprise that immediately after that blood slowly came out of his mouth, an indication that he had reached his limit.

In his mind he kept screaming at himself to stay awake and not close his eyes but there was a fine line between how strong the mind is and how strong the body is. James struggled to take a step forward but the fatigue of everything had finally become too much for him, causing him to slowly close his eyes and fall to the ground, the last thing he heard were the screams of his comrades as they ran towards him.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Pragmatic

The doors to the emergency room swung wide open with doctors on either side wheeling in the patient. Their exchange was frantic and fast paced, checking on the status of the patient who seemed to have one foot on the other side when he was brought in.

Behind the doctors were a group of people, following closely behind wondering all of them looking anxious and worried. One of the doctors turned to the girl in short black hair and said "We're taking him to the ICU now, we can't have anyone else here".

"Excuse me but I am a certified field medic with 104 successful operations under my belt", objected Sakuya, her eyes red and trails of dry tears coming from them "I can help with the surgery and more than anything else that is my friend over there".

The doctor gingerly turned back. Though her face was covered by a surgical mask, only exposing her eyes, Sakuya could tell that she was honestly contemplating on letting her join or not.

"I'd like her to accompany us", said a voice from behind. Everyone turned around to see Dr. Sakaki slapping on a pair of gloves, the jovial and carefree expression he normally had now completely gone. It only served to remind them how dangerous the situation had become. He strode forward with a purpose only to have Soma shoot to his feet and give him a stare that could melt steel.

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on?" he asked

"You can force me to stand here and have me explain everything", said Sakai not backing down "Or you can move aside and let me so my job."

Soma did not say anything, instead he simply took a step to the side allowing Sakaki to pass but not before saying "When this is over, you and I are going to talk".

Sakaki headed through the doors along with Sakuya and the doctor. The doors closed behind the trio leaving the rest of the people behind, wondering about the fate of their comrade.

Time now marched at a furiously slow pace. All three teams sat in the waiting room, with only Kota pacing back and forth. A door opposite them opened and Tsubaki stepped out, breathing out a heavy sigh.

"You all need to take a break and get some rest", she suggested but the words fell on deaf ears. Everyone present had no intention of leaving the room till they had some good news. Just then the door to the ICU opened and Sakuya stepped out, dressed in surgical clothes but nearly a quarter of it was covered in blood. Sakuya rubbed her head a little then collapsed to her knees. The others rushed to her side and helped her to a nearby chair.

After giving her some water, the medic looked at the floor for a moment then said "It's bad, to be honest I've never seen someone this badly injured before".

These were the facts, James' skulls suffered multiple injuries, the bones in his right arm are broken in ten different places. His lungs, pancreas and liver were also gravel injured. Half his ribs were broken and he was suffering from massive internal bleeding capped off by the fact that before he was rushed into the ICU, he lost eighty percent of his blood.

Sakuya knew that if she told the others, it would only serve to demoralize them even further. All she could do was tell them about the heavy internal bleeding, leaving out the more gruesome injuries.

"Given how tired I was from the mission", she said looking at their tired expressions as well "Sakaki told me to leave and to inform all of you to go get some sleep".

"No way are we going anywhere", objected Tatsumi "We're sticking here no matter what?"

"Suppose there's another aragami attack?" asked Tsubaki with a tone that clearly stated she had heard enough "If you went out right now in your tired states you'd only get injured which meant that the doctors would have to divide their time to keeping both you and James safe".

Alisa rose up to object that statement but the boss was not done "It's understandable how concerned you all must be. After all, he may not have been here that long but Castor has proven a valuable teammate and a friend. But as it stands no one here knows how long this operation is going to go so till the doctors have finished with their job you all are going back to your rooms and getting some sleep".

At this everyone exchanged glances at each other, unsure of whether or not to heed the order.

"If you like I can forbid you from coming here altogether", said Tsubaki with a shrug

"Alright fine", shouted Kota "We're going but promise to tell us the second they're finished".

All of them now departed from the room except for Sakuya and Tsubaki. The medic looked at her boss then looked down at the floor.

"How bad is it?" asked Tsubaki when she was sure no one would hear her.

"Very," replied the veteran god eater. "He's suffered more than twelve fatal injuries to his body, everyone is doing their best to try and pull off a miracle but…"

Tsubaki saw Sakuya looking up, tears now rolling down her eyes "I don't think he's going to make it".

Tsubaki felt a terrible pain forming in her stomach. Throughout her time as a god eater and as the second in command at the far east branch, she had seen many god eaters come and go, each of their deaths left a hole in the hearts of everyone who knew them.

She remembered how weak and emotional she felt hearing that her own brother had to be left behind and how hard it was for her to remain neutral despite wanting to everything she could to go out there and find him.

And now this latest tragedy, another promising god eater who had the potential like nothing she had seen before once again shared the same fate as many others before him.

When Alisa woke up she was drenched in a cold sweat. She kept remembering that moment when she saw James and how that black aragami capitalized on that opening. She closed her eyes tightly then got out of her bed and left her room. It was still very early in the morning which was why she saw no one while wandering the empty corridors of the far east branch.

The girl shivered a little when a particularly cold wind swept through the room she was in, causing her to rub her arms. It was only now she remembered she was still wearing the red jacket that belonged to James. For some reason after that mission where she saved his life, she fainted and when she woke up, she found the jacket was on her. As much as she wanted to ask him how that came to be but the flow of events prevented that from happening.

Eventually she found her way to the training room where she found Sakuya hitting the air with a furious pace. Alisa must have come nearing the end as Sakuya finished with a furious uppercut then stopped and caught her breath. The medic headed out of the training room, grabbed a towel and saw Alisa standing there. The two greeted each other then headed to the lounge. It came as no surprise that they found Hibari in her usual place going through information for the upcoming missions.

The red haired girl paused then lowered her head and hit her table with her right hand. She noticed this expression was not lost on the two girls. "Sorry", she said in a dejected voice "You shouldn't have seen that".

"Hey Hibari there's something I've been wondering", said Sakuya sitting on the chair

"I think I know what you're talking about", she said "Soma confronted me about the same thing after the mission was over."

"Almost ten minutes after Alisa and Kota were sent to the north and north east to provide backup, the main force of the aragami were coming in from the south side."

The two of them were taken aback by the statement. Alisa quickly recovered and spoke first "Then why? Why didn't you tell us about it? We could have gone back and provided some backup".

"I wanted to but the director stopped me", she said which only made things more confusing for the two

The doctor looked at the patient charts then looked at the body, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Doctor what does this mean?" asked one of the other medical staff.

Fascination and answers would have to wait. He could not speculate right now and needed to keep the information as tightly wrapped as possible before moving further. Sakaki relaxed himself a little then turned to the others and said "You've all done enough, now all we can do is leave it up to fate. Go back to your rooms and get some rest. You all have earned it".

Momentairly confused by this sudden statement, the adrenaline that had spurred them on to continue their work after 15 hours had passed finally stopped pumping, causing all of them to immediately feel relaxed. After that came a desire to sleep and it was one so strong that none of them could ignore it.

Without saying anything else, they bid their goodbyes to the director and left the room. Sakaki simply hoped that with everything that happened and how tired they were at the very end, they would forget what happened.

Sakaki looked at the documents once again, then back to the still body lying on the operating table. When Sakaki was reading on James' dossier before he transferred, he noticed how odd it was that someone could seem so plain. Whether it be athletics or field combat, he was always ranked at an average place.

At first he did not seem to care for such a detail but after receiving the recruit and seeing him in action, Sakaki began to wonder even more how someone with his talents was able to stay under the radar.

It was only in the recent mission that he got a good understanding of the teenager. To be able to predict the chain of events with that level of precision was not something even most veteran god eaters could do. It was only in the operation that his questions were answered.

Sakaki took a step back, took off his mask and said "You'd better wake up James, I have many questions for you."

AN: human? Robot? Alien perhaps? Or something else clearly left of centre. Even I have no idea

(I do but that was just said for fun)


	26. Chapter 26

Answer and Questions

It came as no surprise to Sakaki that when he left the operating room, the first thing he saw was Sakuya, Alisa and Soma waiting for him. It made sense that Hibari would tell someone about what happened in the latter half of the mission but he was happy to see that not everyone found out what he did.

"You're not going to let me rest a little?" he asked with an amused face but their expressions remained constant. He sighed a little then walked past them, heading to his room.

Once there he made sure that no one else could interrupt then took his seat and took in a deep breath.

"It was after you all left, James stayed back as there was something important he wanted to tell Tsubaki and I", he began.

"He said very clearly that this kind of attack could not be the work of feral aragami and that there had to be a powerful leader that was in charge of this. He also predicted that the attacks on the north and north east side would intensify after some time had passed, prompting us to focus our attention there allowing the aragami to attack from the south side."

"Is that why he had Soma and I stand in reserve?" asked Sakuya and Sakaki nodded.

"The idea he had at the time was you two would be able to stem the tide of the new aragami. If not then he'd have to fall back on the backup plan and we all know what that was".

"Of course James also knew that he would not last long facing the bulk of the enemy forces but he believed that with the additional support to both the defence and recon, you'd be able to take care of things on your end and hurry over to his location to provide back up".

"But there's one thing here I don't understand", said Soma "Had we remained in our current positions, then James, Alisa and Kota could have faced the enemy forces together instead of him taking on all the punishment on his own."

To this Sakaki let out a wry chuckle as he took off his glasses and cleaned them a little before putting them back on and said "There's a cold pragmatism to James' tactics".

"I too thought of the same thing and voiced my thoughts. James stated that in such a scenario everyone else would suffer major injuries and in the worst case scenario we might lose two or three god eaters in the process. Compared to that, the option of losing only one soldier was the best that we could hope for."

Soma banged both his hands on the table then shouted "SO YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU WERE OKAY WITH SENDING ONE OF OUR OWN TO THEIR DEATHS?"

"Of course not", replied the doctor still keeping his calm "Strange as this may be to believe, I don't want to lose a single one of you in this war with the aragami. But when it came down to the 'ruthless arithmetic,' multiple soldiers being gravely injured versus one soldier dying"

Sakaki looked away from Soma's furious gaze and added "I won't make any excuses for how things played out and I am truly sorry for not informing you. All that we can do right now is pray for the best".

"All this aside", said Alisa "Director how is he?"

"I won't lie to you; James is in a very bad state. We've managed to stabilize him and James has proven to be somewhat resilient but things are still up in the air right now."

In the end there was nothing they could do but turn around and walk away. When they got out of the room, they headed back to their own rooms to collect their thoughts.

After a few days had gone by, Alisa finished her latest mission and headed to the hospital wards. She made it a point to visit James every chance she got like how he did when she was laid up. When she got there she found Sakuya and Kota also standing outside apparently waiting for her.

"How did the mission go?" asked Sakuya when they went inside.

"Pretty good although Soma does seem a little high strung", she replied with a chuckle.

The light hearted moment was soon gone when they sat at his bed. It pained Alisa to see James almost fully wrapped up in bandages, the only part of his body that could be seen was his hair, eyes and mouth. The monitor at his side maintained a constant rhythm, a good reminder that despite how bad he looked, he was still alive.

The three of them quietly talked about their day and anything interesting that happened. There were moments that looked like he was reacting but that turned out to be wishful thinking on their part.

"I promised mom and Nozomi that when you wake up, we'd go there and have dinner together", said Kota with a pained expression "So you'd better wake up buddy".

Sakuya gently patted Kota on his back trying to reassure him.

"You know when I first got here, I never thought I'd get along with anyone", said Alisa holding James' hand "I pushed everyone aside, even when others tried to take the first step forward. Even the two of us weren't exactly best buddies when I first got here."

"But somehow you became the first friend I made here and it's thanks to you I've made more and more friends."

The girl started to sob now as she tearfully said "So you'd better not quit on me got it? I've lost enough in my life and I can't lose anyone else. Because if you don't then I swear I won't forgive you".

Sakuya smiled a little while watching Alisa gently stroke James' bandaged hand. She was shocked when she and the others noticed James' hand weakly rise up and held Alisa's hand.

Upon seeing this, Alisa gasped in shock while Kota darted outside to call for help. Tears of joy rolled down Sakuya's and Alisa's eyes, a tragedy now averted.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

A very small piece of the puzzle

When James finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the dimly lit room. After that he slowly got out of the bed and dragged his heavy body towards one of the tables. He held up a polished metal tray to his face, anger welling up inside of him when he saw the reflection looking back at him.

With a grunt of frustration, his left arm shot out and bent the metal tray in half and sent it crashing to the ground.

"Muscle density three times that of a normal human, Cellular regeneration four times faster than any reptile, bone density equal to or higher than that of steel and forty percent more neural connections in the brain than any other human on the planet", said a voice causing him to turn in that direction.

"Normally this would have me very intrigued but considering your age, I had a feeling that there was a reason why you are the way you are", said Sakaki taking a step forward and holding out something towards James. The teenager grabbed it immediately and rubbed his face a little before looking back at the doctor.

"Much better", he spoke in a hoarse voice then coughed a little.

"You're very thirsty", said the doctor handing him a glass of water which he drank it. When he was done, Sakaki stared at James then asked the only question he had on his mind.

"How did you become like this?"

"Truth is I can't really tell you everything. It's not because of personal reasons or anything", said James sitting on the bed "Its because if I tell you then people, powerful people will do everything they can to keep you from telling anyone else".

"That bad huh?" asked the doctor with a wry chuckle

"Yes. Sometimes people will do everything they can to keep certain skeletons from ever seeing the light of day", said James taking in a deep breath "Though I can't tell you the whole story, I can tell you a good story I heard when I was training".

"Around the time the aragami first invaded the planet and started attacking, there was this village god knows where but the location of the village itself wasn't important. The inhabitants of the village were a bunch of religious fruit cakes. See they believed that the aragami came to earth because they had believed they angered the gods".

"So the oldest got it in their minds that the only way to ensure their safety was to sacrifice the youngest child every year, believing that the gods would bestow their blessing upon the child and make them the protector of the village."

"I don't really want to talk about how crazy the whole thing is but anyway, the whole village agreed to it and so began the tradition. They would take the child up to this shrine near the mountain and beat him within an inch of his life and leave him there. If the child survived then they'd believe the kid was blessed by the gods, no need to say what happens if the child dies".

He noticed how unnerved Sakaki was on hearing how frank he was at telling the story but still continued "This kept going on and on till one night they took this one kid in particular up to the shrine. They did the deed and once again the kid proved unworthy so everyone left. Of course if they stayed there they would have seen the kid stand back up and like he was possessed by the spirits of all the kids that died before him, he went down to the village and burned the whole place."

"Those that were lucky died in their sleep from all the smoke. Those that tried to escape would meet the kid and he'd lop off their heads with a single swing. By the time the neighbouring village or town heard about this and rushed over, it was too late. The village was in cinders and there was almost no one left".

"No one?" asked Sakaki surprised by that last statement.

"Well how do you think the story passed on if everyone died?" asked James back to him "Turns out in the middle of his revenge, the kid didn't notice another boy was able to escape. It was that boy who ran to the neighbouring village and told them what was going on."

"Now the conclusion of the story itself varies from person to person. Some people believe the kid returned to normal and was so horrified by what he'd done, he killed himself. Other people believe the kid ran and hid in the deepest darkest hole in the world. And there is a third group who also believe the kid is alive and is waiting. Waiting for what I don't know, but all accounts of the story do have one common point…"

"The village prayers were answered; it's just that it wasn't the gods who answered them", he said finishing the story.

Sakaki had to cover his mouth to keep from vomiting. To think that people could even entertain such gruesome ideas shook him to his core. He looked at James, nodding ever so slightly to show that he understood the story then swallowed a little.

"All that aside, I am happy to see you're alive and well James", he said trying to push those thoughts back "I'll give you half an hour before I tell the others".

James half bowed, unable to complete the gesture because of the injuries sustained. The doctor smiled at him then left.

It was after completing another mission with her team of Sakuya and Kota Alisa returned to the base. It was there the trio were greeted with some good news causing all of them to rush towards the emergency room without saying another word.

When they got there, they heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door shouting

"Whoa, whoa, whoa what's going on here I don't want you to come anywhere near me you quack", he said "After seeing what a half assed job you did with Alisa, I'm afraid I might die if you even invade my personal space".

"Listen James", sad the doctor (that was all shocked and shaken when he saw Alisa wake up from her coma) "I just want to take out some of your blood for some tests that's all."

"No chance in hell old man… Hey where are my guns and knives?"

"We removed them for safety".

"…. Just so you know, if you try anything with me I will break both the bones in your hands"

The trio heard enough and opened the door to find James covered in bandages except for having the upper half of his face revealed. Surprisingly he was no longer in his hospital gown, he was wearing on a pair of black pants with white accents and his red and black jacket.

James gave a threatening look to the doctor who immediately shrank under the gaze then turned and left. He now turned to the trio at the door, tilted his head to the side a little then said "Hey guys".

"Hey guys?" repeated Alisa stomping towards James who immediately took a step back on seeing this

"You had us so damn worried, you were so badly injured we thought you were going to die. And then when you finally wake up and we come to see you, you say 'Hey guys?'"

James cowered under the shouting and braced himself when he saw Alisa's hand about to whack him on the head. Instead of attacking him though, her hand rested on his shoulder and before he knew it her face was pressed into his chest letting out silent sobs.

"I was so scared, I thought that you weren't going to make it", she said continuing to cry.

James looked at Kota and Sakuya who also got a little misty eyed when they saw him. Despite having his lips covered, they could tell he was softly smiling at them as he said "Sorry about that guys; guess I bit off more than I could chew".

No longer able to contain their emotions, the two of them started crying as well as they embraced a friend they thought they would never see again.

"You know I can walk on my own right?" asked James while walking down the corridor to the lounge, his arm around Alisa.

"I'm not running any risks", she objected "Till they remove your bandages, we're still going to pretend like you're made of glass".

"Boo", he said pouting under his mask.

"Aww you're such a lucky guy buddy", said Kota gently nudging his friend "You must be happy".

"Hey now", called Sakuya from behind "Don't move too fast you too. He may act like it but James is still pretty injured".

"I'm fine Sakuya you worry too much", said James turning around but winced a little, something she noticed immediately.

"Uh huh like I'm going to believe that", she said staring daggers at him.

They got to the lounge and Hibari noticed them coming in. She dropped everything she was doing immediately rushing over to her friend. The first thing she wanted to do was hug him but stopped when she saw him smile at her despite being covered completely in bandages.

"James are you sure you should be walking when you look like that?" she asked looking at him from head to toe.

"I tried telling him that but nooooo", interjected Alisa

"Well I don't like sitting around and doing nothing", he cried out.

"That is going to be a little tough", said another voice from behind. All five of them turned to see Tsubaki entering the room and giving James a half smile.

"Castor", she said and he snapped to attention "Thanks to your efforts we were able to complete this mission with no loss of life, for that you will receive a commendation. Dr. Sakaki and I have something else to discuss which we'll inform you about later".

"That being said", she added and interrupted the momentary celebration the five were having. Her expression became serious as she said "You needless put yourself in harm's way and caused great damage to the mental state of your team and your comrades. Effective immediately, you are under suspension for the next three days"

"WHAT?" shouted James with a sudden vigour in his voice. He took a step forward but fell to his knees and covered his ears like he didn't want to hear what Tsubaki was saying.

As the teenager continued to sulk for being given three days off, Tusbaki passed by Alisa and quietly whispered "Take good care of him till then".

Alisa nodded and smiled at her boss. Meanwhile James wailed out loud then fell down and rolled the floor like a child throwing a tantrum.

AN: Tsubaki playing matchmaker and more relationship development? Oooh la la.

Anyway, this ends our side step and tomorrow we're getting back to the main storyline with the nova project.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Clash

"Are you kidding me?" cried out Alisa in surprise on hearing the news "You have no idea about the burst system?"

A still bandaged and recovering James shook his head in response "I never thought too much about it."

"But didn't they teach you about it in orientation or during your first day here?"

He paused for a moment then his eyes opened wide in surprise saying "Oh yeah now I remember. Bit of a pain though to get that going… I guess that's why I never cared about it".

"Unbelievable", said the girl falling back into the chair in her room while James quietly sat on her bed. "By the way, how are you feeling?"

"I feel listless", he said swaying from side to side like a child "Can't wait for tomorrow when they finally remove my bandages".

"Don't get too hyped up now", she warned "They're only removing them to see how much you've healed. It's not a done deal that you get to go out and cause more trouble".

"But I'm fine", he said hopping out of his bed and heading to the door.

"Next you're going to tell me that you don't even use the shield I gave you", she added causing James to stop. He slowly turned around and once again he gave her a confused look then asked "Wait, we can equip shields?"

"Maybe it's just me", said Kota sitting with James at the top of the base, letting his legs dangle at the edge "But I've noticed that you and Alisa seem are hanging out a lot".

"I don't know why but she's made it her responsibility to take care of me", he said lying on his back and looking at the skies "It's turning into a real chore and I don't know why she's even helping me either."

"You know James many would be lucky to be in your position", said his friend "Oh speaking of, you having dinner with me and the family tonight right?"

"Sorry buddy but not today. I already promised Kanon and Ms. Daiba that I'd go over there and I have to do some planning for movie week as well", replied James "Of course tomorrow is also going to be the day I can finally get approval to go back into the field so I can't wait".

"You know you're the only person on the planet that actually enjoys his work".

"Of course I am, I'm a shark after all. Sharks don't move backwards in life or stay still. To them it's either move forward or die".

Kota simply shrugged at the response. While it was true that one needed to be motivated in order to do well in a job as demanding as being a god eater but James took it to a whole other level.

Alisa woke up with a smile on her face and did not take too long to change and get dressed in her daily wear. She looked at herself in the mirror, contemplating whether or not to wear something less showy. She decided not seeing as this is what she was most comfortable with. Alisa now left her room humming to herself then stopped outside of James' room and knocked a couple of times.

When he didn't answer she opened the door and found that no one was inside. Considering now neat and tidy things were with almost no change to what it looked before, it was hard to tell he was ever here. The only sign that there was an occupant here was the very slight crumpling of the bedsheet. Alisa figured out where he was and headed to the emergency room right away.

When she opened the door, it came as no surprise that she found the teenager there and was in the process of removing his bandages. She was about to say something when she paused for a moment and quietly stared at him, admiring his lean build. She saw him face her but he was looking down, carefully removing the bandages on his body. Alisa noticed the two scars on his chest and stomach, remembering that those were the same places the black aragami shot him in.

"You know it isn't nice to stare at people cadet Amiella", said another voice snapping her out of her thoughts and causing James to look ahead and meet her gaze.

James stared at her with a confused expression while Alisa's face turned about as red as the cap on her head. Sakaki looked at James then to Alisa then gave them both an amused expression saying "Ah, the benefits of being young and guided by your emotions".

"HUH?" shouted the two but the director ignored that and turned to James "Well you have a clean bill of health so there's no problem sending you out into the field".

"YES", shouted the teenager

"That being said, all the teams are currently on mission leaving only you and Alisa and which does not meet the minimum requirements for a mission", said the doctor pushing his glasses back and watching James droop down like a wilted flower.

"Alisa, could you excuse us for a moment, I have to give James a fully body check up now", said the doctor ushering her out before she could voice any objections. Once he closed the door he turned to James then said "Well I shouldn't be all that surprised that you've recovered so quickly. Your body is leagues ahead of most".

"Most?" he repeated with a raised eyebrow "There're others like me?"

"That's a conversation for another day my friend", he replied with a smile "Also the director has gotten back from HQ and wishes to speak to you. Head over there when you're done"

James nodded and the two of them left immediately. Neither of them noticed Alisa waiting outside but didn't think too long about it. They headed to the office where Johannes waited for them.

"Well done James, I heard of your exploits in my time away and I must admit you have gone above and beyond to protect everyone in the far east", said Johannes with his arms open wide and coming forward to embrace James, a gesture which caught the teen and the doctor off guard.

"And how are you feeling now sergeant?" he asked

"Ready for a mission, I'll be heading out with a team tomorrow and get back into the swing of things", he replied. Johannes turned back and took his seat while Sakaki stood beside James. As Johannes talked more and more about how he appreciated James' stepping up in Lindow's absence, James' mind was in another place. For some reason Johannes' voice was a familiar one that he heard somewhere but James could not exactly place the location.

"And I hope that you will continued to aid us in the way you've been doing till now", he said and James nodded half-interested.

"Well then I won't take up too much of your time. Take care of yourself James".

The teenager turned around and left the room. Once outside, he headed to the lounge where Hibari was and quickly grabbed a paper from her desk then scrawled a line of Japanese text. He showed it to Hibari, making sure that the characters were properly written.

"James did you do calligraphy in your free time?" she asked "This is well written kanji".

"Thanks", he said heading back up the stairs "Sorry have to go fast".

James darted back to the Directors office opened the door then asked Johannes what was written.

"Ah sorry about that", he said shaking his head "I'm not as well versed in reading Japanese as I used to be. When Sakaki comes back you can ask him".

"Thanks director, sorry for disturbing you", he said and left. Outside the door he looked back at the door and his expression became tense. As much as he tried to, he could not remember exactly where he heard it from but he knew it was important.

Come night time, Alisa went to her room but not before opening the door to her friends room and poking his sleeping form on the bed. She pulled off the covers expecting to see a bunch of pillows lined together but she saw James dressed in his night clothes sound asleep.

Now that she was sure he was asleep, she headed back to her room. What she didn't know was that when the door closed, James sprang to life and spent only two minutes changing into his regular uniform before darting outside. Seeing as he didn't select any mission, he'd be fine with doing only a little training.

Not wanting to go too far, he headed towards the ruined temple and was glad to find a couple of ogretails and cocoon maidens going around minding their own business. Of course when they saw him, they switched to battle mode and started charging at James. One of them jumped up pouncing on James with its jaw open wide. James stood his ground then brought his shield up and swung out. This caused his shield to crash into the ogretails face, knocking it aside.

"Well, well", he said smiling "This should make things pretty fun".

After about five minutes or so, James slid back against a wall and sighed in defeat. Turns out, the mission was a lot easier than he thought. The aragami didn't last long against his attacks, now that he upgraded his gear and updated his fighting style.

He charged his spear and spun around with his weapon pointed outwards but the target leapt over his weapon. It landed behind James and shot out multiple electric spheres at James but he quickly brought up his shield and batted them aside. He went to gun mode, fired backwards and propelled him towards the target then attacked with an overhead slash but the aragami leapt back.

When it landed however it saw James stretch his left hand as far back as possible then threw it at the aragami with as much strength as he could muster. The aragami was nearly caught off guard by this and tried to move aside but the weapon did land a cut on the side of it's face.

It tried to shoot James again but without his weapon he moved a lot faster and got even harder to hit. James quickly retrieved his weapon then turned it into a gun and pointed it threateningly at the aragami which growled at him.

"Haha you must be honestly surprised to see I'm alive considering all things", said James to the black aragami "Well I can understand that but you should also understand that you made a bad move making me your enemy".

"You took out Lindow and you nearly took me out as well", he said his hand inching towards the trigger "In most cases today would be your last day on this planet but you let me go so this is me returning the favour".

It seemed that the aragami understood him as it no longer growled and slowly moved back. When it was sure it would not be followed, it leapt up and went out of sight.

Seeing that there was nothing else for him to do here, James too headed back to base. However, he did not notice a pale skinned white haired girl slowly creep out from the ruins watching him leave.

AN: Just letting you all know, I felt the MC's story and role in the first and third major story arcs of the game (the arc and arius nova arcs) were not that deep at all so I'm making a few creative changes to that. Let me know what you think and

Thanks to my first review and favoriter Fnchan, I have read your review and after I'm done with part two I will start working on a story along those veins.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

The legend begins

With Johannes back, he laid out a daring and bold new plan that would ensure humanity's survival in the face of the overwhelming aragami threat; the arc project. As the name itself said, it meant to board the remainder of humanity on a large arc and travel to mars where they would terraform the planet and start a fresh.

In order to do that they would need a great deal of materials which meant all three teams were spending their days going out and collecting the required materials. This was of course physically taxing on most of the teams who spent their days either fighting or sleeping. There were only a three in the far east who did not mind the change in pace.

And two of them were in the training room early in the morning, busy sparring with one another. Despite Sakuya's best efforts and attacks and feints, her opponent was able to read her like an open book and barely use much in the ways of countering her.

The veteran medic ran forward then attacked with a straight right but her opponent vanished. She looked up to see him standing on her extended hand with a grin.

"You know that's just showing off", she remarked while James back flipped and landed on the ground.

"Do you want to end things for today?" he asked tilting his head to the side with a playful smile "I can keep fighting for a few hours more."

"Yeah I'd rather not push myself too much", she said wiping her brow "After all we finally cornered that Dyaus Pita and we're going to take it down today".

James smiled at the comment. Sakuya was right, thanks to the efforts of the other teams, the black aragami which participated in the 'Pale moon light' mission commonly known as Dyaus Pita has had it's movements hampered and is now said to be in the ruined city.

The two of them headed to the cafeteria where they met Kota and Alisa who were also having a discussion about something.

"Hey guys what's going on?" asked James

"Dude is it true you've only now started using a shield?" asked Kota and James shot a stare to Alisa.

"Wait seriously?" asked Sakuya in surprise

"It never crossed my mind all that much", said James looking away "But now I'm using it so that problem's taken care of".

As they talked about their mission they heard two soldiers behind sitting down to eat their breakfast.

"I heard he faced down 200 aragami", said one soldier and that interested James.

"Nah it was more like 500 man", said the other soldier "Guy's a total lunatic facing them all on his own."

"Yeah but you gotta admit", said the first soldier "It's great to have Vanguard on our side."

"True", said the second soldier slurping is noodles "That guy's the right kind of crazy".

"Guys is this vanguard dude some new recruit?" he asked to the members of his team who shot him a confused look.

"James are you kidding?" asked Sakuya not believing that he asked the question "You have no idea who they're talking about?"

"None whatsoever", he said shaking his head "If this vanguard's that good then we should definitely have the guy on our team today".

"They're talking about you buddy", said Kota and it was James' turn to be surprised.

"Ah that's right you were in a coma for most of the time when it happened", said Alisa "The story about what you did spread around the base and the rest of the ghetto pretty fast."

"Before any of us knew it, they were calling you by that name", said Kota "Any idea what it means?"

"Vanguard is the front most line of the army", replied James "They're the ones that face the full brunt of the enemy's attacks and serve to lower the number of enemy soldiers."

"Facing the enemy head on and not minding the numbers", said Sakuya sipping her coffee "Yeah that does sound like you."

"Oh come on I'm not that reckless", he objected.

"Yes you are", said the trio and James buried his face in his plate.

The team for today was James, Sakuya, Alisa and Kota, the destination and target were obvious. The team made sure they were fully supplied and ready then headed out. On the way there, James noticed how anxious everyone looked and for once he agreed with them. This was the aragami that possibly killed off the most experienced god eater in the far east and took him to the limit as well.

He looked at his god arc, momentarily wondering if he would have to resort to his card like last time. In the end he decided not to for now. At the moment he'd let things play out and fight like normal and decide everything from there on. If things go south and they're pushed into a corner, then he'd resort to his ace.

They knew about the plan already so he did not need to tell them anything when they got down. The four of them watched the helicopter leave then turned around and split into two teams to scope out the area.

To their surprise, both teams found the Dyaus waiting for them in an open field. The four of them took their positions with Alisa and James at the front, Kota on the right flank and Sakuya in the rear.

Now was not the time for words, only actions. James and Alisa shot forward with Kota firing from the sides. The aragami charged at them then leapt up when they were close. The two teens reacted and shifted to gun form and shot the aragami on the underside where its bonds were weakest. It landed and quickly recovered by shooting multiple electric spheres at the two. Alisa rolled aside and dodged while James ran straight forward and batted any that came close with the shield.

The Dyaus leapt towards James and he replied by whacking it in the side of the head with the flat part of his spear. The aragami skidded back just as Sakuya fired multiple shots from her rifle, all of them hitting the mark. The aragami was distracted long enough for James to come in closer and attack with two downward swings from his spears, landing two deep blows on the aragami's joints.

The aragami roared at them once again then charged straight towards James. He retaliated by swinging out his spear. Just like their last encounter, the aragami leapt up in time, narrowly avoiding the blade but when it was in the air, Kota and Sakuya capitalized on this by shooting it as many times as possible. The aragami crashed into the ground but recovered without wasting much time.

The aragami stared at the four hunters drawing closer and closer. In response to this the structures on its back disappeared and it now produced a pair of sharp red wings.

Kota was caught off guard by this and took a step back. In an instant, the aragami appeared by his side and before him stood James with his shield up blocking the wings.

"What the hell are you doing?" he looked back and shouted "Get your head in the game damn it".

Kota shook his head and resumed attacking but the aragami reacted much faster than him. Try as he might to get a bead on the enemy, it was simply moving too fast.

"Everyone switch to gun mode and do not interfere", declared James walking ahead of the group "You see an opening in its patterns, capitalize".

"James you can't take that thing on by yourself", objected Sakuya

"Watch me", he countered and ran towards the aragami without any hesitation. The aragami responded with multiple swipes from its front legs and wings which created waves of energy. James ducked and weaved his way through the barrage while those behind readied their shields to block. When he was near enough James went from a run to a slide then shifted to gun mode and fired at the aragami's face. It did not surprise him that the enemy easily moved aside and dodged the barrage but that's what he wanted.

He quickly calculated where it would land then threw a paralysis trap. The creature landed on the trap but what surprised James was how quickly it recovered from the trap. The aragami charged straight at James who was able to get his shield up in time but the force of the attack knocked him flying through a building or two.

The Dyaus turned around, its attention now to the trio but a shot from the left side caused it to halt its advance. It turned around and saw James charging at it with his spear. The aragami moved aside to dodge the attack but the teen halted just in time and swung out with his spear, landing another cut on the creature's side.

The aragami roared defiantly at James about to attack again but this time it was halted by a sudden barrage of fire. This allowed James to come in closer and attack with a thrust to the face. The aragami doubled back in pain, rose up trying to threaten James but he did not back down. James instead threw his kunai on the underside of the aragami then used it as footholds to run up the creature and attack with another downward slash, creating a very deep wound on the aragami's face.

As if the tables were turned, it was now the aragami that was sporting multiple injuries while James looked fresh as ever. He stood his ground, not backing down from the aragami's roars before it ran towards him. James replied by throwing his spear at the creature while Kota hit the weapon on its base, increasing its speed. The aragami moved in time so that the weapon landed on it's side and not the face. It looked ahead to see James running towards it like a man possessed. It fired multiple electric spheres at him but James leapt up and over the attack like a pro gymnast.

While in the air he grabbed his spear which was still embedded in the aragami, charged it and released in such a way that when he swung his spear, it lopped off the Dyaus' right front leg. Still in the air, James pointed his spear at his enemy ready to end this. Once again he charged his spear but instead of letting it go he held on. James drew closer to the aragami while his spear built up more energy. The aragami mustered whatever it could as it turned around about to retaliate.

When he was only a breath away from the target, James finally unleashed the charge in his weapon.

Sakuya, Kota and Alisa slowly walked forward, unsure of where or not it was over. They saw the two standing back to back and neither of them moved for the longest of time.

Finally the Dyaus pita took a step forward, in doing so caused a geyser of blood to shoot out from its head and it's back as it was cut right down the middle. The aragami halves fell down at separate times while James turned around, rested his spear on his back and walked towards the team.

"Whoa", said Kota

"Whoa", said Sakuya

"Whoa", said Alisa looking at James coming towards them.

He retained his calm and composed look as he neared his team. Unfortunately the moment was ruined when he suddenly sneezed a couple of times causing everyone to become astonished for completely different reasons.

In the end the trio could not help but laugh at what happened to James.

While the team celebrated another victory, the white haired girl watched on in awe like a spectator from the shadows. She smiled before vanishing into the shadows

AN: ok cards on the table I wanted James right here to do something like the 'giga drill breaker' where he started spinning like a drill but had difficulty phrasing it properly. Anyway, the ball is rolling and we are now moving ever closer to the nova incident. As always stay updated and let me know if you liked it or not.

Shio is going to make her appearance and I can't wait. WHOOO


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Clash

"Are you kidding me?" cried out Alisa in surprise on hearing the news "You have no idea about the burst system?"

A still bandaged and recovering James shook his head in response "I never thought too much about it."

"But didn't they teach you about it in orientation or during your first day here?"

He paused for a moment then his eyes opened wide in surprise saying "Oh yeah now I remember. Bit of a pain though to get that going… I guess that's why I never cared about it".

"Unbelievable", said the girl falling back into the chair in her room while James quietly sat on her bed. "By the way, how are you feeling?"

"I feel listless", he said swaying from side to side like a child "Can't wait for tomorrow when they finally remove my bandages".

"Don't get too hyped up now", she warned "They're only removing them to see how much you've healed. It's not a done deal that you get to go out and cause more trouble".

"But I'm fine", he said hopping out of his bed and heading to the door.

"Next you're going to tell me that you don't even use the shield I gave you", she added causing James to stop. He slowly turned around and once again he gave her a confused look then asked "Wait, we can equip shields?"

"Maybe it's just me", said Kota sitting with James at the top of the base, letting his legs dangle at the edge "But I've noticed that you and Alisa seem are hanging out a lot".

"I don't know why but she's made it her responsibility to take care of me", he said lying on his back and looking at the skies "It's turning into a real chore and I don't know why she's even helping me either."

"You know James many would be lucky to be in your position", said his friend "Oh speaking of, you having dinner with me and the family tonight right?"

"Sorry buddy but not today. I already promised Kanon and Ms. Daiba that I'd go over there and I have to do some planning for movie week as well", replied James "Of course tomorrow is also going to be the day I can finally get approval to go back into the field so I can't wait".

"You know you're the only person on the planet that actually enjoys his work".

"Of course I am, I'm a shark after all. Sharks don't move backwards in life or stay still. To them it's either move forward or die".

Kota simply shrugged at the response. While it was true that one needed to be motivated in order to do well in a job as demanding as being a god eater but James took it to a whole other level.

Alisa woke up with a smile on her face and did not take too long to change and get dressed in her daily wear. She looked at herself in the mirror, contemplating whether or not to wear something less showy. She decided not seeing as this is what she was most comfortable with. Alisa now left her room humming to herself then stopped outside of James' room and knocked a couple of times.

When he didn't answer she opened the door and found that no one was inside. Considering now neat and tidy things were with almost no change to what it looked before, it was hard to tell he was ever here. The only sign that there was an occupant here was the very slight crumpling of the bedsheet. Alisa figured out where he was and headed to the emergency room right away.

When she opened the door, it came as no surprise that she found the teenager there and was in the process of removing his bandages. She was about to say something when she paused for a moment and quietly stared at him, admiring his lean build. She saw him face her but he was looking down, carefully removing the bandages on his body. Alisa noticed the two scars on his chest and stomach, remembering that those were the same places the black aragami shot him in.

"You know it isn't nice to stare at people cadet Amiella", said another voice snapping her out of her thoughts and causing James to look ahead and meet her gaze.

James stared at her with a confused expression while Alisa's face turned about as red as the cap on her head. Sakaki looked at James then to Alisa then gave them both an amused expression saying "Ah, the benefits of being young and guided by your emotions".

"HUH?" shouted the two but the director ignored that and turned to James "Well you have a clean bill of health so there's no problem sending you out into the field".

"YES", shouted the teenager

"That being said, all the teams are currently on mission leaving only you and Alisa and which does not meet the minimum requirements for a mission", said the doctor pushing his glasses back and watching James droop down like a wilted flower.

"Alisa, could you excuse us for a moment, I have to give James a fully body check up now", said the doctor ushering her out before she could voice any objections. Once he closed the door he turned to James then said "Well I shouldn't be all that surprised that you've recovered so quickly. Your body is leagues ahead of most".

"Most?" he repeated with a raised eyebrow "There're others like me?"

"That's a conversation for another day my friend", he replied with a smile "Also the director has gotten back from HQ and wishes to speak to you. Head over there when you're done"

James nodded and the two of them left immediately. Neither of them noticed Alisa waiting outside but didn't think too long about it. They headed to the office where Johannes waited for them.

"Well done James, I heard of your exploits in my time away and I must admit you have gone above and beyond to protect everyone in the far east", said Johannes with his arms open wide and coming forward to embrace James, a gesture which caught the teen and the doctor off guard.

"And how are you feeling now sergeant?" he asked

"Ready for a mission, I'll be heading out with a team tomorrow and get back into the swing of things", he replied. Johannes turned back and took his seat while Sakaki stood beside James. As Johannes talked more and more about how he appreciated James' stepping up in Lindow's absence, James' mind was in another place. For some reason Johannes' voice was a familiar one that he heard somewhere but James could not exactly place the location.

"And I hope that you will continued to aid us in the way you've been doing till now", he said and James nodded half-interested.

"Well then I won't take up too much of your time. Take care of yourself James".

The teenager turned around and left the room. Once outside, he headed to the lounge where Hibari was and quickly grabbed a paper from her desk then scrawled a line of Japanese text. He showed it to Hibari, making sure that the characters were properly written.

"James did you do calligraphy in your free time?" she asked "This is well written kanji".

"Thanks", he said heading back up the stairs "Sorry have to go fast".

James darted back to the Directors office opened the door then asked Johannes what was written.

"Ah sorry about that", he said shaking his head "I'm not as well versed in reading Japanese as I used to be. When Sakaki comes back you can ask him".

"Thanks director, sorry for disturbing you", he said and left. Outside the door he looked back at the door and his expression became tense. As much as he tried to, he could not remember exactly where he heard it from but he knew it was important.

Come night time, Alisa went to her room but not before opening the door to her friends room and poking his sleeping form on the bed. She pulled off the covers expecting to see a bunch of pillows lined together but she saw James dressed in his night clothes sound asleep.

Now that she was sure he was asleep, she headed back to her room. What she didn't know was that when the door closed, James sprang to life and spent only two minutes changing into his regular uniform before darting outside. Seeing as he didn't select any mission, he'd be fine with doing only a little training.

Not wanting to go too far, he headed towards the ruined temple and was glad to find a couple of ogretails and cocoon maidens going around minding their own business. Of course when they saw him, they switched to battle mode and started charging at James. One of them jumped up pouncing on James with its jaw open wide. James stood his ground then brought his shield up and swung out. This caused his shield to crash into the ogretails face, knocking it aside.

"Well, well", he said smiling "This should make things pretty fun".

After about five minutes or so, James slid back against a wall and sighed in defeat. Turns out, the mission was a lot easier than he thought. The aragami didn't last long against his attacks, now that he upgraded his gear and updated his fighting style.

He charged his spear and spun around with his weapon pointed outwards but the target leapt over his weapon. It landed behind James and shot out multiple electric spheres at James but he quickly brought up his shield and batted them aside. He went to gun mode, fired backwards and propelled him towards the target then attacked with an overhead slash but the aragami leapt back.

When it landed however it saw James stretch his left hand as far back as possible then threw it at the aragami with as much strength as he could muster. The aragami was nearly caught off guard by this and tried to move aside but the weapon did land a cut on the side of it's face.

It tried to shoot James again but without his weapon he moved a lot faster and got even harder to hit. James quickly retrieved his weapon then turned it into a gun and pointed it threateningly at the aragami which growled at him.

"Haha you must be honestly surprised to see I'm alive considering all things", said James to the black aragami "Well I can understand that but you should also understand that you made a bad move making me your enemy".

"You took out Lindow and you nearly took me out as well", he said his hand inching towards the trigger "In most cases today would be your last day on this planet but you let me go so this is me returning the favour".

It seemed that the aragami understood him as it no longer growled and slowly moved back. When it was sure it would not be followed, it leapt up and went out of sight.

Seeing that there was nothing else for him to do here, James too headed back to base. However, he did not notice a pale skinned white haired girl slowly creep out from the ruins watching him leave.

AN: Just letting you all know, I felt the MC's story and role in the first and third major story arcs of the game (the arc and arius nova arcs) were not that deep at all so I'm making a few creative changes to that. Let me know what you think and

Thanks to my first review and favoriter Fnchan, I have read your review and after I'm done with part two I will start working on a story along those veins.


	31. Chapter 31

p class="MsoNormal"Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"What's in a name?/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I can understand you going out on your own and causing trouble", said Sakuya rubbing her head and staring daggers at James who shrunk under her gaze "But seriously doctor, why did you agree to this as well?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""There is a good reason to this now if you would please take a seat along with James, Kota and Alisa I can explain things", said Sakaki retaining his calmness and composure./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Sakuya sighed in defeat, muttering something under her breath before sitting alongside the rest of the team while the girl that James and Sakaki brought back sat on the floor./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Recently, I've discovered that after the retaliation team has finished their mission and headed back to base, an aragami is found to examine the battlefield", he began "Out of sheer curiosity I decided to see for myself what kind of aragami this is and had James accompany me on one of his missions"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You went on a solo mission?" shouted Alisa as she wildly shook James "You have any idea what could have happened to you?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"James silently mouthed the words 'help me' to Kota and Sakuya but neither of them wanted to intervene./p  
p class="MsoNormal"It was thanks to Dr. Sakaki clearing his throat that things started to resume once again./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I know what you're thinking and yes, she may look like a human but trust me when I say she's an aragami"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"At this all four present were surprised by the statement then turned to James who nodded in agreement, giving further weight to Sakaki's statement./p  
p class="MsoNormal""As you all know an aragami is a collection of oracle cells which trend towards a singular purpose and that is to consume", said the doctor. "However in this girl's case the cells all work together with a much greater purpose in mind which is to observe, interact and behave like a human being"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Because of this I believe that the girl before us is none other than the singularity", he added. The room was immediately filled with an eerie silence./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Ok so for those of us not in the loop", said James "What is a singularity?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Humanity has never been able to understand or find out where the aragami came from. Some say they came from space, others say they come from under the earth itself. However what they can all agree is that there is a source of aragami, a sort of queen or god from which all other aragami are born. This aragami is what Fenrir HQ and many of the scientists refer to as Nova."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""It is believed that with the decline in humanity as terrible as it is and the aragami on the rise, I believe that the Nova will be sure to make an appearance. The good news is that on it's own the Nova is simply a gigantic aragami that cannot attack us"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""IF that's true then it would need to be activated by something…" said James turning to the girl "The singularity"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Exactly, if the Nova and the singularity were to come into contact with one another, it would start off an extinction level event culminating in the fall of humanity and the only species left on the earth will be the aragami"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""So that would mean we have two options available", said James speaking up and not letting the others dwell on such a grim thought "One is we cannot let her near the Nova at any costs. Two is in the event we fail to keep them apart, doc I need you to think of a way to stop that Nova"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""James you don't understand, the Nova is a god. We cannot…"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Everything bleeds", said James banging his fist on the table, startling all in the room "God's are just creatures that can do things we humans think are impossible. It doesn't matter what kind of power the Nova has or how stacked the odds are. If you need me to help out then I'll gladly do it but don't tell me that it's impossible to defeat the Nova because as long as it breathes, it can be killed"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Another silence gripped the room as the possibility of facing an apocalypse and a God weighed heavily on everyone's minds. Sakaki continued staring at James, looking straight into those determined eyes and remembered their talk when he recovered. Because of that he let off a scoff and asked "Very well, I will begin the research. In the meantime I want you to teach her about humans, the good and the bad so that it'll be easier for her to blend in with the populace."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Ah before we get started", said Sakuya standing up from her place "Don't you think we should come up with a name?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Oh I know how about Norami?" suggested Kota. Everyone gave him a narrowed stare while the girl shook her head in denial/p  
p class="MsoNormal""What about Margaret or Elizabeth?" suggested James. "She does look like an Elizabeth if you ask me"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Unfortunately though the girl shook her head to that idea as well/p  
p class="MsoNormal""What do you think of the name Shio?" asked Sakuya bending down and looking at the girl. The girl looked like she was pondering about it for a moment before returning to Sakuya with a smile./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well I guess it's settled then", she said with a smile/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Shio", said Shio standing up with a giggle "What's a shio?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""We should also think about getting her a change of clothes", said James "After all if she does look like a human, particularly a girl in this case… imagine what would happen if she jumped from a really high place."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"At this Kota and James looked like they were imagining just that/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Oy get your heads in the game you two", said Sakuya as she whacked the two youth's on the back of their heads./p  
p class="MsoNormal""He is right though", said Alisa "We should get her a change of clothes"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""And where is she going to stay? Its not like we can fake the paperwork and make her look like a recruit", added Kota/p  
p class="MsoNormal"James wanted to raise his hand up and say that it was entirely possible. He knew plenty of people who could make Shio look like she came from some part of the world and give a proper explanation for why she looked the way she did. After all they did It for him./p  
p class="MsoNormal""She'll be staying with me", said Sakaki "There is a room here which is just out of range of our aragami detectors so she should be safe over there"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You know this feels kinda familiar", said Kota "This whole dynamic where a group of people start taking care of a baby and it brings them closer together"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Oh yeah sure", said James with an amused tone "I remember so many movies where they do that, only difference is the baby doesn't trigger the apocalypse."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: center;" align="center"* * * * * * * * * * */p  
p class="MsoNormal"After they had finished their discussion on what next to be done, the team was dismissed. Sakuya and Kota headed back to their rooms while James and Alisa sat in one of the chairs near the snack machines. James got her a can of coffee while he took out a can of juice./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I never would have guessed when I got transferred here", said Alisa drinking first "That I'd get roped into all of this. Sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"She looked at James, giving him a casual smile and asked "How are you staying level headed in the middle of all that?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""What do you mean?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""When Sakaki dropped the bomb that the apocalypse could be triggered by a little girl you were the first one to focus on what had to be done and not worry about what could happen. How were you able to do that?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I have to do it that's all", he replied chugging down his drink "At times like that you can't be too bothered or scared of failure. You have to keep moving forward no matter how difficult things might seem"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hmm", she said humming to herself while swaying her legs "I guess that's why everyone relies on you so much"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"She wanted to say something else but they saw the elevator door open and out came Soma. He looked at the two then said "We need to talk James", he said./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Then I'll be on my way", said Alisa getting up and leaving the two./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm hearing talk about how my dad wants to make you the new captain of the first unit", he said falling into the chair besides James./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Don't get me wrong, that's great and all for you. One step closer to being a super pencil pusher", he added with a wry chuckle "But you should be careful though, that old man's only in it for himself for as long as I can remember. And if you're not careful you're going to wind up one of the bodies he steps on to achieve his goals"./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"br / * * * * * * * * * * * */p  
p class="MsoNormal""What did you two talk about?" asked Alisa while they both had breakfast/p  
p class="MsoNormal""The purpose of life, calculating pi to the 1000supth/sup place, who looks good in a swimsuit", he replied noticing how unamused his companion was./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Sorry Alisa, we didn't really talk all that much. He just gave me an interesting piece of information then went to his room"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Didn't you two get along well at the start?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""True but he said that he'd only help me out during that crisis with Lindow", he replied "After that he wanted to go his own way and do his own thing and I had no reason to object."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"The two of them went their own ways after that. James went on a few missions with the defence unit while Alisa went out on ingredient hunting with Sakuya and Kota. When it was late evening, all three of them met in Sakaki's room. James and Sakaki were deep in discussion about something while Sakuya was putting the final touches on her dress. Shio came forward to Kota, staring at him then went forward, her hands pressing on Kota's stomach./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hey what the?" cried out the teen/p  
p class="MsoNormal""So hard", she said moving back and gave him a curious look. She turned around and wandered over to Alisa who only now noticed her./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Before she knew it, Shio came forward her hands pressing Alisa's chest a couple of time causing the girl to yelp out in surprise. The aragami moved back and said "So soft" then turned her attention to James./p  
p class="MsoNormal"She came up behind him while the other two 'victims' wondered whether or not to warn him. They watched Shio stand behind James her arms opening wide before she gave him a big hug./p  
p class="MsoNormal""HUH?" cried the two spectators./p  
p class="MsoNormal""So warm", she said releasing James and he turned around to give her a little pat on the head then gave a confused look to Alisa and Kota./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hmm what's wrong?" he asked/p  
p class="MsoNormal""How come you got a hug while she fondled me?" asked Alisa and it did not help that James shrugged./p  
p class="MsoNormal""It seems that she's forming opinions and thoughts about those around her", said Sakaki stroking his chin "That means eventually she'll develop tastes, preferences, likes and dislikes as well. This is incredible"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"While the others wanted him to elaborate, James turned his attention to Shio, watching the girl play around with some toys Sakaki found. Despite her being an aragami, she looked and behaved like a child, such a strange parallel if he ever saw one./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Done", said Sakuya in triumph as she shot up and completely derailed everything else that was going on around her. She displayed the dress to the group who admired it a little before kicking, Kota, James and Sakaki out of the room./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Why did they do that?" asked Kota taken aback by the gesture./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Excuse me but that's my room so let me in", cried the doctor/p  
p class="MsoNormal""They're going to have her change clothes", said James "Means Shio will be in her birthday suit and they don't want us to see that"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""But why us?" asked Kota/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Because we're guys and she looks like a girl so she gets the privacy", he said in response./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'll never understand women", said Sakaki shaking his head/p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p 


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Under the mask

Somehow Sakaki was able to rope Soma in to what was going on and got him to help out from time to time in taking care of Shio. How he was able to do that baffled the four of them but they welcomed the helping hand.

On the subject of the girl in question, the team took turns in teaching her about the world. When they were not outside hunting aragami, there was at least one person teaching Shio about the world, how to act and how to better understand the humans. Alisa in particular took care of how to act, ensuring that when she meets someone new, she would not go right ahead and fondle them (a particularly difficult task when the girl came face to face with Kanon).

Nevertheless, she was integrating well into the far east branch. What surprised James most of all was that everyone didn't mind the new face in the branch. He would later learn from Hibari that the arc project was slowly but surely moving onto the final stages of completion.

With that came a heavy weight being placed on the shoulders of all those in the far east. This in turn created a kind of tension in the air which everyone felt. Though the god eaters and the employees all acted cordial and tried to behave normal, there were many underlying issues at hand which none of them wanted to address.

Which is why James found himself standing on the ruins of a destroyed carrier vessel; chucking stones in the water, a little research into the place told him that back when they were at the top, humans made thousands of carriers and used them as a means to wage war with one another.

But he did not care all that much about humanity's past. At the moment there was nothing going on in his mind, no coherent train of thought, no plans, no ideas; nothing. He wanted to get away from the branch for now and relax a little.

"Damn shame this place doesn't have a beach", he muttered to himself "Hmm… wonder how that would work out?"

He paused for a moment and now imagined the girls dressed in swim suits causing his mind to go blank for a moment.

'Whoa', he thought then heard footsteps behind him. He turned around expecting to see Alisa or Kota but instead saw Shio standing there with a curious look on her face.

"You look troubled", she said and he gave her a half smile. It amazed James at how fast the girl was able to pick up the language.

"Something like that, I mostly wanted to clear my head a little", he said

"James there is something I've wanted to tell you", said Shio coming forward looking nervous "You remember that time I held your hand yes?" she asked and he nodded in response.

"Truth is, when I was learning your language, I also saw brief moments of your past", she added. Though his back was towards her, she could tell that he did not like that.

But James summoned all the restraint he had and turned around then calmly asked her "Did you see anything interesting?"

"I saw a lot of things… a lot of sadness and pain", she said "Why did you do those things James?"

"At the time it was a pretty simple choice for me", he said "It was either do the deed and live or die. At the time the only thing I wanted to do was live no matter how difficult it was so I kept going forward, even if it meant dying my hands in all that blood".

"If that's true then why are you doing your best to hide those things?" she asked

"Before I answer that, tell me Shio, you've seen the kind of person I used to be, what do you think of me in light of this new information?"

Shio looked at him giving her a casual smile, pretending like this was not a big deal to him. But she had been around enough humans to tell how they really felt and James was not doing a good job hiding how he really felt. His smile was just a mask

"I think you're a very sad person", she said finally and he nodded "You're done so many terrible things back then that you're never able to forgive yourself for it. That's why you work so hard and why you're always about doing things. But the thing is James, even after knowing what happened to you, I still don't think you should hide who you really are".

"Is that so? So you have no problem with who I really am? You wouldn't mind having a friend who's actually a monster?"

"No", she said sternly

"Well not everyone in the world is like that", said James sitting down "They're still special in that way. If they found out that I wasn't really a good guy like I've led them to believe, they'd all abandon me. Even though they're my friends because of a lie I've kept telling them, it's better than telling the truth".

James let out a long sigh and said "Man alive this is some really heavy stuff to deal with. And I wanted to come here to relax a little".

"Sorry", said Shio lowering her head "It's just been bothering me for a long time now".

"Don't worry about it", he said with a calm expression gesturing for her to sit down beside him.

The girl did and the two of them talked about a lot of other things, not noticing Soma in the background with his head lowered.

"Always had a feeling you were hiding something kid", said Soma looking to the skies then taking in a deep breath "Never knew as bad as me."

Whether it was his time spent with Shio or the numerous missions he had been going on, Soma started to think differently about his comrades, particularly one teenager in particular.

Thanks to that he and James went together on a mission which did not take all that long to complete. When they were done, he asked James to hold off on the pickup as there was something important he wished to talk about and that was his past and why he hated the director so much.

James learned that while Soma was still in utero, Johannes and his wife (Aisha Gauche) worked on something called the Managarm project where they wanted to enhance soldiers with the P73 bias factor thus boosting their combat capabilities. Unfortunately the experiments all ended in failure which led the couple to their wits end.

It was here that Aisha suggested instead that they inject the oracle cells into Soma. Crazy as that idea was, the two were cornered and had no other option. They did just that and though the experiment was a success, it resulted in complications that led to Aisha's death. Thanks to that Soma was born stronger, smarter, tougher and faster than any other humans but it also meant he was on his own ever since he was born. Thanks to being born enhanced, he was isolated from everyone his age which was what led to him being the way he is.

"I thought it'd be important if you knew all that about me", he said tilting his head down "The only other person who knew about this was Lindow so I hope you understand what this means".

James nodded in agreement and the two of them headed back to the base.

Sakuya plugged Lindow's gauntlet into the terminal then waited for the system to boot it up. The first thing she saw was a recording taken by Lindow. The video was pretty grainy, given what happened to the gauntlet but she was able to clear up the audio with a little tweaking.

"If you're seeing this then it means I've gotten too close and am now dead. I want to start off by saying I'm sorry Sakuya and Tsubaki for not telling you anything about this. Truth is I didn't want to get anyone involved which is why I played things a little close to the chest this time."

"So the important part is this, if you are seeing this message then you have to do whatever it takes to get onto the arc project. Johannes plans to take only those who volunteered up in the arc but what he didn't tell you is that he plans to awaken this ancient and powerful aragami known as the Nova on Aegis island".

Sakuya's eyes widened in horror at that

"When the Nova awakens it will devour all human life on the planet bringing about the apocalypse. I tried to stop it but the old fart was a lot smarter than I anticipated. I should have brought in help, maybe the new kid he seemed crazy enough to go on a suicide mission with me".

The video cut off after that and when it returned, it showed Lindow sitting on his sofa with a solemn look in his face "Get yourself on the arc project and save yourself you hear me. From what I've gathered all he needs now is to find the singularity to complete his plans. This is my last recording because I get the feeling I won't be returning from the next mission so make sure to survive and Sakuya, I'm sorry".

The video ended after that and Sakuya covered her face quietly sobbing. She stayed like that a little longer till she could not cry anymore before getting back to her feet and taking the gauntlet out of the terminal.

For a long time now the only thing she ever thought about was surviving. Every day was a fight against the monsters outside and she would do everything she could to survive and live the next day. But now the revelation that Johannes was going to end the world had lit a fire inside her heart. In her mind Johannes was a coward for turning tail and running while the rest of humanity struggled and fought day after day.

It did not matter how difficult or arduous the task before her was. It did not matter if everyone tried to stop her. All that mattered in her mind was stopping the apocalypse and the man that behind her lovers death.


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Decisions

The announcement sent shockwaves throughout the far east branch.

On a calm Sunday afternoon, Johannes announced to all that the arc project was complete and now it was time for the people to start boarding it. All the employees of Fenrir were given the option of either staying and forfeiting their right to leave or to bring their family along and board the arc.

Thanks to that, everyone in the base went their own way, thinking about which path to take. James had finished another mission and was called to the director's office to discuss what his decision would be.

"The chance to start a fresh with no more fighting and no more war, it is a very enticing opportunity don't you think?" asked Johannes to James who's expression did not change at all.

"Out of everyone here I personally hope that you will join me in this endeavour to a new and better world. After all you have risen through the ranks faster than anyone could have ever anticipated and have become a symbol for God eaters everywhere. The mighty Vanguard who faced an army all on his own and survived"

James did his best to hide how he hated Johannes saying that name.

"With you backing me, it will surely send a message to the others that this is the right choice to make. In the end of course all that matters is the continuation of the human species right?"

"I honestly don't think that my status will have any effect on everyone present", said James no longer remaining silent "But that aside I've decided to stay".

"Are you sure about that?" he asked not showing any surprise to the decision at all "This is a once in a life time opportunity James. You would never have to fear the aragami ever again, you'd never have to deal with the hanging blade above your head. Peace, freedom and the promise of a new life."

"Tempting offers indeed but I'm not the type to stand by while things are going to hell. I'm a fighter to the very end and if it means going down with the ship then so be it".

James bowed to the director, turned on his heel and left. As he did he saw Kota walk past him but that did not matter at the moment. He remembered why Johannes' voice was so familiar. It was his voice he heard in Alisa's flashbacks, it was him that brainwashed her and used the pain of her past to mould her into his puppet.

A white hot rage started to form in his stomach as he used whatever restraint he could muster to not march back inside the office, take a pen and stab Johannes in the eye.

To say that the announcement caused a rift between everyone in the far east was an understatement. On one side Karel, Brendan, Kanon and Kota had decided they were going on board the arc while on the other side Hibari, Tatsumi, Licca, Gina and nearly everyone in the first unit decided to stay. This created tense atmosphere at the work place which could explode at any moment.

That however did not stop the influx of missions which served as a way for people to let off some stress. Kota did not show up for any missions after making his decision as he was busy talking to his family about the arc project and what would happen in the coming days.

"Staying and fighting huh?" asked Sakuya with an amused chuckle to James, Alisa and Soma "Never would have thought that I'd be spending my last days with you guys".

"I know what you mean", said James humming to himself seeming happy despite the present conditions "I always pictured myself sitting on a beach, sipping a pina-colada with Mrs. Castor next to me. We spend our sunset years in some tropical island miles away from any aragami".

"Wow you have things all planned out huh?" asked Sakuya while Soma noticed how red Alisa's face got but chose to say nothing.

"Yep, which is why I don't plan on dying here and I don't plan on letting the apocalypse start", he said turning to her "Decks stacked against us and it's almost time to close the curtains but that's not going to stop me. It doesn't matter who or what stands in my way because I am going to punch, kick and claw my way to victory."

"Not as articulate as I would have put it", said Soma turning to the two of them "But you're right. I plan to live and die on my own terms and not even that damned Nova is going to change that."

"Good because there was something important I want to tell you", said Sakuya and told her about Johannes' plans.

"You think that's bad, turns out the dude is the same guy who brainwashed Alisa into attacking Lindow", added James

"He was the one?" shouted the girl in surprise and James nodded once again.

"Revenge, determination, absolution and simply because you want to rebel", said James looking at all of them "We may have our own motivations for doing this but it doesn't change one important fact; we know who the enemy before us is. All that's left is to take him down and save the world."

"Alright team you with me?" he asked and the three all shouted in agreement.

"Then let's go cancel the apocalypse".

As they were about to head back to the base, they were halted by a familiar voice on their communicators.

"You have to get back here", said Sakaki with desperation in his voice.

"What's going on old man?" asked Soma

"Johannes, he's found Shio", he replied and all four of them started running back to the helicopter.

AN: we're getting ready to bring the first big chapter to a close. Expect a couple of twists and turns in the story. Take care.


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

The defiant ones

AN: this chapter is going to be longer than most other chapters you've seen so fair warning.

"How did you let that happen?" barked Soma while holding Sakaki by the scruff of his neck

"I apologize once again. I believed that my room was a safe place where none of the aragami detection protocols would work but I never would have guessed that Johannes would install cameras here to spy on me", said the doctor.

"So he knows about everything then", said James rubbing his chin "damn it".

"He waited till all of you were out on a mission and acted swiftly. Johannes could not subdue the singularity on his own so he held me at gunpoint, forcing her to go with him without any resistance".

"Damn it", shouted Soma tossing Sakaki like a paper bag.

"Look now is not the time to vent", said James putting a hand on Soma's shoulders "Right now we have to head to Nova's location and stop him".

"I know where that is", said Sakuya "It's aegis island".

"The place that just happens to be where the arc project is currently housed", mused James out loud as he headed to the door "Come on, we can't waste any time here".

The four of them nodded in agreement and left with Soma being the last one. He did not turn to Sakaki but said "You can't blame yourself for what happened old man."

The team grabbed their god arcs then darted down an underground tunnel that connected directly to Aegis island. The four ran like their lives depended on it but came to a halt when they saw Kota of all people standing opposite them. What's more he had his god arc in hand

"What's going on here Kota?" asked James first "I thought you and your family would be on the arc by now".

"James do you know what the definition of family is?" asked Kota with his head lowered. "It's the people that are with you from the moment you're born. The people whom you share the same blood with"

"James", said Sakuya with urgency in her voice but he motioned to her and the others not to move forward. They nodded in agreement and he set his god arc down

"But nowadays I think that family isn't just that. It's not just the people who have the same blood as you, it's the people that you grow up, the people that are with you when you fall."

Kota's arms and legs started to tremble. The others stood their ground watching the teenager come to grips with how he nearly left the rest of his family behind, which was no easy task. Finally Kota let out a loud cry of pain before covering his face to hide the tears rolling down them.

"Hey now", said James placing his hand on Kota's shoulder in a bid to assuage his guilt "You did this with the best of intentions buddy. No one's mad at you for making that decision".

"Really?" he asked and the others nodded "But there must be a way to make it back to you guys".

"Sure there is", said James smiling softly at him "But we'll talk about that later. Right now we've got a princess that needs to be saved".

"A princess?" repeated Kota as James went to retrieve his god arc "Who are you talking about?"

"Johannes kidnapped Shio and is planning on using her to jumpstart the apocalypse", said Alisa "OK, he's all caught up now so lets' go."

"Agreed", said James on behalf of the others.

The team arrived on Aegis island, immediately noticing the large statue of a female with an orange coloured gem on the chest. When they drew closer they saw Shio at the centre of the gem, her hands and feet seemingly immersed inside the gem. What's more at the ground they saw Johannes typing something on a computer.

"Hey old man", shouted James "Back away from the console nice and slowly and we can end this without spilling too much blood".

"Took you long enough to figure that one out", said Johannes raising his hands up and turning around but retained his arrogant tone, like he had already won the fight "I'm surprised you of all people didn't know what I was planning Soma, I guess you're not as smart as I thought"

"Enough of this", barked Soma taking a step forward "Let the girl go right now or else"

"Or else what? You all know that if the singularity was to come into contact with the Nova it would trigger the devouring apocalypse and as you can see that has been accomplished", said the elder with a condescending chuckle.

"She still hasn't been fully absorbed yet", said Sakuya pointing a gun to her target. Immediately she fired a few rounds at the gem, intending on shattering the object and freeing their friend but before the bullets could land, they were stopped by a hand that emerged out of nowhere.

The team now saw a giant monstrous shaped aragami circular in form with two large arms, the head of a demon, multiple straps floating behind it and a bright glowing centre. The monster descended towards the team while Johannes stood alongside it.

"Now do you see the futility of your actions? The world itself is teetering on the edge, the nova itself is awakening. All you can do now is stand and watch as humanity…"

But his words got cut off when a blast of energy shot past his face and into the computer behind him.

"Sorry old man, I'm a fan of long winded speeches from the bad guy right before the climactic battle", said James shifting from gun to weapon mode "But right now, there's a friend of ours that needs rescuing so let's get to the fun part".

As if spurred on by those words, another creature now stood besides Johannes. This one took the form of a woman with purple skin and clothes in black and white. Her hair had a similar design to the straps on the larger creature.

"Very well, I was hoping to let your last moments alive be simple and peaceful", said Johannes as the female lowered her hand for him to get on it "But if you wish to kick and scream till the bitter end then I shall gladly oblige".

A slot opened on the female's chest allowing Johannes to step inside. Once inside, the bigger beast stood behind the female and with one loud roar, it indicated that the fight was about to start.

"Team spread out, Sakuya and Kota move to flanking positions. Alisa, Soma back me up".

All four of them did as ordered, James charged his spear and shot forward like a cannonball, attacking with an angled swing. It did not surprise him that the larger monster lowered its hand to block him. When that happened the female spun around, the tips of her hair glowing as they were about to land on James. He quickly leapt back and avoided the attack but the moment he landed, the female stood before him. Letting out a condescending chuckle her punch shot forward and it was all James could do to raise his shield up.

The others saw him being knocked back into the pillars but had no time to check on him. The female lied on the ground, her arms and legs extending well beyond what was natural before it started to violently flail about. In the seconds that followed it released waves of energy in multiple and random directions. The team had to quickly leap up or dodge to avoid getting caught by the attack.

While this happed the beast behind rose to heights no one could reach by jumping. It cupped its hands together then fired three missiles that did the task of hitting a singular target. In this case it was Soma who the beast was after and the teenager hit the ground violently.

The two creatures came together once more. The female leapt up, landing on the right hand of the beast. Her hair rose up then became solid and the beast grasped the female by the legs before swinging her about, using the hair like a blade.

James leapt up to avoid the blades path then ran forward as the beast was finishing its attack. He leapt up and swung the spear down, landing only a superficial cut on the surface of the beast. The female recovered then appeared besides James as she raised her left leg up and brought it down on the target. The teen moved back to avoid the kick, held his spear out, allowing Soma and Alisa to leap onto the blade before they were jumped higher into the air, going out of range of the enemy's attacks.

In the air, the duo wasted no time with Soma coming down and Alisa switching to gun mode as she let off a barrage of bullets hitting the enemy on the back. Soma's attack landed on the creatures shoulder and created a deep wound. The beast roared out in fury as it's hand reached up, grabbed Soma and flung him off. The youth would have crashed into the ground had it not been for Kota who caught Soma.

The female rose to the skies while the beast emitted out a force that pushed the group back. Kota and Sakuya immediately turned their attention to the female which produced a halo that started gathering energy.

Realizing what they were trying to do, the beast shot forward with the intention of stopping them but were blocked by the timely intervention of James and Alisa. Alisa swung her blade out in an arc, causing the beast to move back. James thrust his weapon forward, breaking the bonds on the beast's chest and forcing the beast to move back while covering the wounded centre.

The female in the sky looked like it had gathered enough energy. Alisa leapt into the air then turned around extending her arm towards James. He quickly grabbed her and the girl flung James higher into the air to get closer to the target. He swung his blade out and landed a deep cut on the female. As he descended, thinking that he had prevented the attack, he saw the female give him an eerie smile.

James watched the beast below swing its arms out, knocking Soma and Alisa hard into the columns that formed aegis. It then leapt up with incredible strength and before James knew it, the fist of the beast came crashing into his chest and sent him into the ground with the speed of a falling meteor.

Sakuya rushed to James while Kota fired a barrage to keep the two back. The bullets hit but it did not stop the two coming closer and closer. The female got down on all fours once again ready to attack with the same move before. Kota prepared himself for the sign that it was about to attack but instead of using a barrage of energy, it came towards him at incredible speed. The last thing Kota saw was the female's elongated right hand rise up before it all went black.

Sakuya helped James to his feet. It only took a few seconds for him to notice what was going on and the two immediately leapt back to avoid a fist from the beast aimed at their location. They both skidded back then used their guns to attack the beast form from both sides. It raised its hands up to block the bullets while the female shot out one of her arms at Sakuya. The veteran god eater leapt aside to avoid the attack but the beast capitalized on this by firing a trio of energy bullets at it.

Sakuya prepared for impact but James appeared before her, cutting through the projectiles with his spear. He reached into his jacket and lobbed off a flash bang blinding the two for a moment but gave Sakuya and James opportunity to breathe a little.

With no other option, the two decided on a straight forward attack. Sakuya would harass the enemy from all sides while James attacked them at close range. She quickly fired multiple bullets that hit the enemy in the open wound while James avoided a frontal attack from the female and rolled behind it. He quickly got up and with one swift swing of the spear, he lopped off the hair.

The two roared out in pain seemingly enraged at how their enemies were putting up a defence. Finally the female extended her arm out, the halo forming before her and firing a large energy aimed at the two. They both leapt in separate directions, allowing the beast to draw in close, its target being Sakuya. It's right arm arched back about to take out another pest when something shot out from the right side, shattering the beasts arm and embedding itself on the wall.

"James", she shouted turning to her comrade who had a look in his eyes that indicated he clearly did not think this through.

Realizing this, the female capitalized on the moment by rushing towards James then attacking with multiple kicks. James dodged all of them but when she turned around, her leg elongated just enough so that when she attacked with a downward kick, James would misjudge the distance and be crushed like a bug.

Sakuya ran towards the spear in the wall then used the pole to vault herself up and land on the length of the weapon. Now she darted along the spear and jumped up and peered down the scope of her barrel to fire a single bullet that shattered the female's leg.

James turned to her with a smile to thank her but he realized that her move came at a price. The beast channelled energy into its glowing chest and fired a concentrated beam at Sakuya, shooting her right into the roof of the structure they were in before she fell down with a heavy thud.

It now donned on him that everyone else on the team were knocked out. The female attacked him with no mercy when she appeared behind and sent him flying into the wall with her back hand. The beast came afterwards with its one giant fist aimed at him but this time though James was quicker.

Because of its size, he was able to quickly anticipate and dodge the beasts fist before they could impact. One fist momentarily embedded itself into the column on his left and he saw the opportunity. James jumped onto the beasts arm and after taking a few more steps he leapt further forward, grabbing the spear and yanking it out.

The female attacked with a few energy shots but James spun around and quickly cut them in half.

"You know I should be thanking you for knocking the rest of them out", said James looking at the others unconscious forms as his right hand jabbed itself into the aragami part of the spear.

"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Johannes "Don't you know that if you tamper the core of the god arc you risk getting infected".

"Relax old man", said James taking his hand out and holding the spear out. He let go of the weapon and instead of falling to the ground, it hovered ominously in the air. If that wasn't enough the blade of the spear slowly began to grow longer and longer.

"Truth is I've been killing aragami since I was… 7 years old", said James while this was going on. "When I actually joined Fenrir, they saw my potential and immediately put me in this really cool team. We got to go to plenty of places and carve up tonnes of aragami flesh".

"You see back in the day, the spear was never my choice of weapon. It's too clean and stylish."

He reached back and took his god arc, revealing to Johannes that it had now changed. The blade extended out a little bit then curved dramatically to one side. The outer part of the blade hardened while the inner portion became sharper and sharper till it gave off an eerie glint when the light hit.

"I was more of a scythe person", he said pointing his true weapon at Johannes "And back then, I never went by a heroic and awe inspiring name like 'Vanguard'."

His tone grew colder and his free hand swept over his face. Johannes now saw James staring at him with a pair of glowing, ice blue eyes.

"Back then, they called me Prophet", he declared.


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

True self

"Wild Hunt?" said Johannes with a chill rolling down his spine. He felt a terrible fear grip his heart as the name being told, brought back legends and stories from the past.

"The dark hand of Fenrir that took on missions and faced aragami too strong for entire branches to defeat, but Wild Hunt is a lie. It was a ghost story that was told among the colleagues. Wild Hunt cannot be real."

"It's funny how stupid some people can be even when confronted with the truth", said James marching towards the two monsters before him "Then again its not like I give a damn or anything about what you believe or not."

When he said that James ran forward and attacked with an upward swing, the two immediately moved aside to avoid the path of the blade but James turned it midway through the attack, switching to a side swing. The two moved back this time only to see James switch from scythe to gun and immediately turn around, firing a shot that grazed the beast's one good arm.

"I'm sure such a learned person like yourself can understand what the name 'prophet' means", said James staring at him with those cold blue eyes of his "Thanks to that you have zero chance of actually beating me here".

"We'll see about that", he said daringly as the female charged ahead attacking with a barrage of fists. James deflected them all with the base of his scythe. The beast took the chance to come up behind James and attack with another swing of his arm but he quickly leapt back and landed on the beast's shoulder.

The female and the beast were caught off guard by this, allowing their human opponent enough time to ram the base of the scythe into the beast's wound. The beast raised its arm up in response and would have fired but the target quickly leapt off then shifted to gun and fired into the beasts back. The female ran up her counterpart and attacked with a falling fist. James calmly side stepped the attack then turned around to ram the blunt part of the scythe into the female's chest, sending her crashing into the beast behind her.

James attacked with another swing. The beast turned around to protect the female and bore the brunt of the attack, causing a deep wound to appear on its chest. James then shifted to gun mode and fired at the downed beast. The female immediately shot her arm out to stop him but her opponent shifted modes so fast that he was suddenly wielding his scythe in the blink of an eye. With a downward swing from the scythe, the arm that was supposed to attack him was now dangling in the air before it hit the ground, cut off from the rest of the body.

Enraged by these actions, the female and male charged forward, attacking him as many times as possible. James slowly moved back while twirling the scythe around him, which in turn deflected every one of their attacks. Though it looked like he was on the defensive, the fact that none of their attacks came anywhere close to his body and him retaining his calm, composed look was not lost on Johannes who let out a roar of fury while shouting "Just die already".

As he said that, the female flew back then grabbed the beast at the base of its body and started to spin it around. All James did was leap back into one of the columns around the battle area then use gun mode to shoot himself slightly higher up to avoid being hit. Out of range, he switched weapon modes and attacked with a downward thrust. On instinct the female raised the beast up as defence but that did not stop James. His spear ran through the centre of the beast's body but only slightly came out from behind.

Of course James was not done as he quickly charged his spear then ran it up the beast's body cutting it half from the chest up. The female moved back, seemingly shocked by this and James watched the beast stumble around for a moment.

He was surprised when the beast suddenly shot out instead of dying, allowing it to grab James with its one good arm and ram him into the ground.

"Now I get it", said Johannes from inside the female "You are no prophet, you're not some supernatural monster capable of seeing the future. You're just smart, incredibly smart yes but that's all it is".

"You're able to see the outcomes of a certain situation by predictive analysis."

"So?" asked James calmly getting to his feet and wiping off the dust on his clothes "Even when you break it down to it's basic level, do you really think even a genius could be capable of something like that? From what I've heard tactical savants through the ages have struggled to accomplish what I can do and I'm not even breaking a sweat".

"Yours is an arrogance that knows no ends", shouts Johannes while the female formed the halo above her head and fired a constant beam of energy at the target. James leapt to his side and then started running to avoid being hit by the burst of intense energy. He noticed that soon he'd be running into Soma and his mind immediately told him what would happen if he dodged.

He now came to a halt and started running straight towards the female. She let out a scoff as the beam quickly moved towards the target engulfing him in a bright hot light.

Or that's what should have happened.

Just before the beam got too close for comfort, James quickly leapt up to dodge it then shifted to gun mode and propelled himself forward. In the air, he returned to his scythe and swung it out. The female watched the blade come closer and closer, causing her to stop her attack and duck down or risk having her head lopped off. She looked back up to find James no longer there. Instead he was standing on the ground with his weapon of choice resting on his back.

"Yo", he said casually then swung out with the speed of a lightning bolt and lopped off the other foot.

"How is this possible?" asked Johannes crawling out of the body of the downed creature "This guardian, this Ardus Nova was a gift from the aragami god itself."

He looked at James now standing over him like a messenger of death and asked "How could a human have overcome this?"

"Well the answers right in front of you", he replied with no emotions in his voice "Humans cannot overcome this creature so that would mean…. I'm not human".

Alisa slowly opened her eyes as she looked around searching for her comrades. She found that they too were in similar straits, also waking up after being knocked unconscious. They rubbed their heads to brush the pain away, doing so caused her vision to clear and the ringing in her ears to be replaced by a constant clanging noise.

She looked ahead of her and retrieved her god arc then turned towards the direction of the sound to see James hammering away at the body of Nova. Unfortunately from the look of things, his blade was too weak to even penetrate the surface of the gigantic being, causing all of his attacks to get deflected back.

James took a step back wiping the sweat off his head then attacked with a thrust from his spear. Even when it was fully charged, it was still not enough to land any noticeable damage whatsoever. He skidded back from the force of the deflection and saw Sakuya, Soma, Kota and Alisa all take their place beside him.

"Any idea what happened?" asked Kota still sounding groggy.

"Johannes is taken care of but we still have bigger fish to fry", replied James glossing over a very important fact like it was nothing "We need to stop that damn Nova thing but none of my attacks are even scratching it."

"James you beat Johannes all on your own?" asked Soma looking at the corpses of the two fallen guardians and noticed among the wreckage was a pool of blood. He understood now was not the time to talk or dwell on such things and turned his attention to the matter before them.

"Alright, here's the plan", said James "Soma and Alisa will hit it straight ahead. At the point where both blades made contact, I'll aim and throw my spear at it. When that happens Kota and Sakuya will hit the base of my spear as many times as possible so that it has enough force to break through the surface.

It wasn't the finest plan they had at the moment but it was the only one available. Soma and Alisa stood ahead then ran ahead about to attack when they suddenly heard a loud yet calm voice say

"That will no longer be necessary".

"Oh what the hell? Did this thing wake up?" shouted James saying what everyone thought.

"Yes James the Nova woke up but don't worry, it's me Shio", she said.

"Shio what's going on?" shouted Soma now

"Johannes' plan was a success, I have now merged with the Nova and it has begun to awaken. But do not fear though, I am able to control the desires of the Nova for now and keep it from achieving its purpose"

"Alright then that means we have some more time to kill the damn thing", declared James "Shio can you tell us where the weak spot is? We'll take care of the rest".

"James I know that you are trying your hardest to save me but it is impossible", she said "After all, now that my consciousness has merged with the Nova, my body is no longer of any use to me".

"What does that mean?" asked Kota

"It means that if we try to hurt Nova, we risk hurting Shio", said Sakuya

"But then what are we to do?" shouted Alisa "If we stand around here, then the apocalypse will trigger and that'll be the end".

"Like I said Alisa, don't worry. Now that I am in control of the Nova, I will take it somewhere safe where it can never harm anyone on this planet again".

"NO", shouted James "There's got to be something we can do, there has to be some option, some weakness."

"DAMN IT, it can't end like this", he shouted defiantly "What's the point in coming all this way if we weren't able to save you in the end?"

"But you did save me James", she said "You all saved me. It was because of my time spent with you, that I learned so much about humans and what amazing beings they are. I know that the time we were all together was brief and short but I will never forget a second of it."

As she said those words the ground around them started to shake. They saw the tethers and wires that were around Nova's body start to detach.

"Thank you for everything you've done my friends", she said

"No Shio don't go", shouted Sakuya

"We'll figure something out, we'll do something", said Alisa

"James", said Kota grabbing James by the collar "You have to have some plan right? Some kind of crazy half baked plan that'll give us the win, come on dude tell us".

James racked his brain searching for any plan at all that he could think of. Try as he might however, all of them ended with everyone dying. His mind continued to run through all the scenarios possible while his body refused to abandon another comrade.

Before he knew it he left his god arc and was banging on the walls of the Nova shouting as loud as possible for Shio not to go. With no other option, no available avenue left to him, James kept praying for a miracle. He kept hoping for something, for some chance that would allow him to truly pull off the impossible.

When he looked up and saw the Nova rise higher and higher, he knew that such a miracle would not come to pass.

"I will cherish our time together for the rest of my life", she said as the Nova rose higher and higher into the skies, till it went out of sight.

The records of Fenrir would go on to state the following.

Johannes Shicksal was deemed a madman by the higher ups in Fenrir. With his plot fully exposed and his deeds come to light, Fenrir was quick to distance themselves from him stating that his actions did not represent what Fenrir wanted for the people.

Realizing that this was all a ruse, the arc project was completely abandoned and Aegis Island was left barren. Even the underground tunnel between the far east and the island was demolished. It is now home to many aragami.

For their outstanding service in humanity's darkest hour; Sakuya Tachibana, Alisa Amiella, Kota Fujiki and Soma Shicksal were all given a promotion and medals. James was promoted to leader, having now become the leader of the retaliation squad. However he was not present during the distribution of the medals.

As far as the rest of the world was concerned, the arc project was a total flop. "A plan devised by a madman to awaken a terrible aragami that wanted to destroy the world", that was the feeling that everyone had after hearing the news. It was only those who were there when it happened, it was only the 5 of them who knew the truth.

Which was why; after the award ceremony was over, Sakuya, Alisa, Kota and Soma all tossed their medals into the trash bin. In their minds there was only one person who deserved to be honoured for saving humanity.

James placed a single black polished stone on the ground. He looked at the thousands of other stones of similar size that surrounded him. 1,873 stones, one thousand eight hundred and seventy three lives that were lost because of him. He remembered all their names and at this moment, he could see all their faces.

Among the faces of the dead, was an older looking man with black hair and a shabby coat. Beside him was a young pale skinned girl dressed in white hair. Since he joined the far east, he's had to add three more stones to the list of dead, their names forever staying in his memory.

He turned around, slowly walking back to the base, his mind blank and his heart heavier than ever. Humanity was saved and the world would continue to spin for another day, but to him it did not feel like a victory.

AN: whooohoo! Pretty sad for the first arc in my opinion. Now let's have a brief few chapters that have some action and character building before we get started with the second story arc.


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: fair warning, this has nothing to do with the main story and works as a change of pace that's all. If you've played GER on PC, then you'd have noticed the other versions of the team with different coloured clothes, hence the inspiration for my chapter.

King for a day

After spending a long time reflecting on everything that happened, James awoke to start his day like normal. His mind was busy thinking of other things which was why his body went on full auto pilot for most of the morning. He did his training like usual, cleaned up and dressed in his regular clothes.

Once that was done, he headed to the lounge area and spend a little time reading up on a few articles as well as watching some Bugarally. He had no real interest in the show but Kota liked talking about it so he didn't want his friend to feel left out.

It was only when it came to the mission selection that his mind finally returned to the present. The reason being was that during the team selection, he saw three different coloured pictures of Alisa.

Curious, he took a step back then tapped the terminal thinking it was a simple glitch. But when he got to the terminal and checked again, he found nothing had changed.

"Hey Hibari", he called out "I think there might be something wrong with this terminal"

."Really? what's the problem", she asked while still keeping an eye on her work.

"It keeps showing three versions of Alisa", he replied "That doesn't make any sense".

"James are you kidding?" she asked stifling a chuckle "Of course there's three of her or did you forget?"

"You're joking right?" he asked her now "You're pulling my leg right? That's got to be it right?"

"James come on this isn't a real problem alright. Just go on your mission and stop being funny", she chided then returned to her work.

He shook his head, giving her a mean look then decided why not and select all three. The mission was a little trickier than normal where they'd have to fight a monkey, a fish, a tank and a scorpion but he didn't think it was a big deal. He was in the mood to let off some steam and these low level aragami were the perfect punching bags for him.

James tapped his foot impatiently against the ground waiting for the rest of his team arrive. He saw the elevator come up, saw it open and his jaw nearly fell to the floor.

He saw not one or two but three Alisa's walking out, each one dressed in a different coloured set of clothes. There was the Alisa in red, one in blue and one in yellow.

"Oh man", he rasped on seeing the trio "What's going on here?"

"What's wrong James?" asked the Alisa in red.

"Aww don't tell me you went overboard in training and now feel too tired", asked the one in yellow taking a step towards him while giving him a caring look "You know there are limits to how much you can do".

"If you're tired", said the one in blue meekly "The three of us could go on the mission ourselves".

"No, the two… we're ….Ack", said James rubbing his head for a second. He bent down, hiding his face for a while then looked up at the trio, staring at them for a while.

"Something is wrong", said the girl in blue looking more worried than before.

"Well if that's true and he's tired", said the one in yellow now only a few inches from James' face "Maybe a little kiss from your truly should wake him up".

As if that wasn't enough the Alisa in yellow trailed her index finger down James' face then slowly came closer and closer to him

"HEY NOW MELISSA LEAVE HIM ALONE", shouted Alisa pulling the one in yellow back. The duo looked at James who was now blushing furiously but his eyes were so wide open that anyone would have sworn he saw a ghost.

Somehow in the middle of all that just happened, James managed to pick up on the most important point in the sudden exchange.

"Melissa?" he asked and the girl in yellow smiled then said "Yep that's me, what don't tell me you forgot my name James".

"Yes that's it", he cried out startling the girl in blue a little "I must have hit my head on something really hard in the morning. Maybe that's why I'm having trouble remembering names".

"Could you guys tell me your names again please?" he asked the trio exchanged confused expressions. The girl in red shrugged a little, deciding that it was not a big deal in the end.

"I'm Alisa James", said the girl in red "You remember waking me up from a coma after the Welkin mission".

"I'm Melissa", said the girl in yellow "When we all got separated, you didn't head back home till you found me".

"And I'm Clarissa", said the girl in blue "We always talk about plans and discuss strategies before we go on a mission".

"That reminds me", said Alisa "Did you two have a talk today?"

"No", replied Clarissa shaking her head "After he finishes breakfast James normally comes to my room to discuss our plans for the day and what tactic we'll be using for the upcoming missions".

Somehow James was able to not focus on the biggest glaring issue in front of him and focus on the mission. He got into the copter with the girls following behind. While the sisters all talked about something or the other, James still tried to rationalize how there were three versions of Alisa accompanying him on today's mission. A happy go lucky and flirtatious type, a meek and calm type and the one with the grounding personality that seemed a little more level headed. Their personalities of course weren't the only things that were different. Alisa carried her usual long sword as a weapon, Melissa used a buster sword and Clarissa had a scythe.

Finally they got off at the mission area then spread out searching for their prey. Clarissa reported the monkey and fish coming towards her and James headed to her location. He got there in time and the two were able to quickly dispatch the enemy aragami.

Unleashing his charged spear in a downward slash, he cut the enemy monkey in half. The two of them exchanged casual smiles at each other but then heard on the communicator that Melissa and Alisa were now dealing with the tank.

The two headed in that location but were knocked aside by enemy fire from behind. They turned around to see the tank marching menacingly towards them.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Clarissa and he nodded in agreement.

"Melissa and Alisa, converge on point J in the mission area. We'll be coming there as well", he declared

"But you're dealing with the quadriga right?" asked Melissa

"Yeah, we'll work together and take them out", he said "It might get a little rough but I'm counting on you".

"Such a flirt", she teased. He turned to Clarissa who kept firing at the tank and forcing it come after them. They rounded a corner, saw Alisa and Melissa running towards them with the scorpion following behind.

At this moment, the four all had the same idea as evidenced by the smiles on their faces. They ran towards each other, getting dangerously close till it looked like they were about to collide. At the last possible moment however, James jumped over Alisa who went into a slide while Melissa jumped over Clarissa.

In the air, James switched to gun mode and fired at the scorpion. It did not surprise him that the aragami got its shield up and deflected the bullets. James did land on top of the shield then leapt forward, switching to his spear and land on top of its head. Without wasting much time he continually jabbed the aragami on the top of the head, landing multiple wounds which caused it to flail wildly about.

With a single swing of the blade, Melissa shattered the crown that was on top of the tank causing it to move back in pain. She flipped in mid air then landed on the ground and charged forward with Alisa beside her. While the tank was still standing on its hind legs, the two of them landed a pair of heavy blows on the underside of the tank.

The aragami was able to leap high in the sky then opened its missile pods to unleash a barrage of fire on the targets. The girls all quickly dodged the weapons but James thrust his spear out, hitting the tip of the missile causing it to explode.

"James", shouted all three of them worriedly.

With a swing of his spear, James cut through the flames surrounding him and watched the tank hit the ground, causing a shockwave. He leapt into the air landed on its back and attacked with multiple strikes to the tank. He got down then ran straight ahead just as the tank opened its chest allowing three missiles to stick out. James stuck his spear into the door then leapt back to avoid the missiles. The tank tried to close its most exposed part of the body but the spear prevented that from happening.

"Melissa now", he shouted back and the girl immediately understood. She ran towards the newly opened target jumped, landed on the spear then leapt forward again thrusting her blade into the aragami's exposed flesh. The sword went through and the let out another cry as it tried to shake Melissa off of her.

James took this chance to retrieve his spear then turn around just in time to block a tail swing from the scorpion. It instinctively brought its shield up which was what James wanted. He charged his spear and threw a couple of knives into the shield, creating a platform for him to jump higher up. In the air James released the charge in his spear allowing him to deliver a downward slash powerful enough to shatter the shield the scorpion had.

The scorpion was taken back for a moment which was all that James needed. He threw his spear at the target which pierced the aragami's chest. The scorpion did not react in time and paid for it as Clarissa ran up the creature, jumped off the spear then swung her scythe out, thus slicing its head clean off its shoulders.

"Wow that's great work Clarissa", said Alisa standing near her sister when she landed.

Melissa came up to them and their overlapping chatter made it hard to hear what they were talking about. James quietly stood over the downed aragami then took his spear out of the fallen foe.

"Well that was a fun mission", said Melissa looking at the rest of the team "We should head back fast, don't want to hold up these two".

"Melissa", cried out her sister

As much as he wanted to ask what Melissa meant, this was not the time. All he wanted to do was go back to the branch, head to his room and get a little sleep. He was feeling unusually tired today. Of course when he blinked his eyes, he found that he was no longer in the mission field as before. Instead he was now sitting at the edge of the helipad with Clarissa beside him. The two were watching the sun set apparently.

As if that wasn't enough, he noticed the two of them linked hands causing his mind to stop. He continued to wonder what the hell was going on and if his body was really on autopilot all over again.

"It does feel nice to kick back and relax after a fun mission", said Clarissa sounding a little more relaxed and less nervous from how she was before. She turned to James with a smile on her face asking him "I can't wait for dinner tonight".

'Dinner?' he thought causing him to sweat. Luckily Alisa picked up on that then said "Relax James, I know that you're no expert in the kitchen which is why I'm cooking. We're going to try something from Russia so I hope you're ready for a taste of my culture".

Her smile of course faded when she saw the boy beside her not react like she had hoped for. "James is something wrong?"

"Huh? No nothing's wrong at all", he said in a non-commital voice "Sorry".

"Was it something I said?" she asked now in a meek voice "You know we could make something else for dinner".

"No, no dinner plans sounds great", he said with a nervous chuckle "Sorry, Clarissa; it's just… I'm feeling a little tired that's all".

"Then feel free", she said putting her arms around his neck and pulling him down so that his head rested on her lap "To use my lap as a pillow".

This of course caught James off guard, causing him to blush furiously but turn his face away so that she did not see him.

"There we go", said Clarissa in a calm and soothing voice while she stroked his hair "You feeling better now?"

"Uh, something like that", he replied with a slightly raised tone in his voice.

"AGH I CAN'T TAKE IT", shouted a voice from behind causing James' head to shoot back to vertical position. The two turned around saw Alisa was the one with an impatient look on her face while Melissa was the one trying to calm her down. This reversal of roles certainly caught James off guard but it was what she said next that had him reeling.

"We all promised that the only form of contact would be hand holding", she declared "This was not what we agreed on".

"Oh come on", objected Clarissa "James was clearly not feeling well so I was offering to help him".

She turned to James who nervously nodded in agreement. This was the truth but it did little to change Alisa's mind.

"That was not informed to any of us. As such I am cancelling tonight's dinner get together", she declared now marching towards James.

The teen who was a pedestrian for the moment was now brought into the argument when Alisa suddenly grabbed him by one arm and proceeded to drag him away but Clarissa grabbed him by the other arm, thus preventing him from moving any further.

All of a sudden now he was caught in a tug of war.

"Let him go we're still on a date", cried the girl in blue

"You violated the rules so this date's cancelled", shouted Alisa

"And while the two of them are so obviously pre occupied", said Melissa smiling as she walked towards James "I think I'll go right ahead and steal you from under their noses".

With a sudden scream, James shot up from the bed. He was panting hard and was completely covered in sweat as he looked about trying to get his bearings. It was only now did he realize that everything that just happened to him was a dream.

He took a moment then tightly covered his eyes before opening them to see that his position didn't change. He was dreaming and finally woke up, which caused him to settle down a little.

On one side he was glad that craziness was a dream but on the other side there were a lot of other implications that he did not wish to address at the moment.

Seeing as he did not want to risk falling asleep again and return to that dream, he hopped out of the bed then left the room.

On his way he noticed the familiar back of his friends causing him to move a little closer and speak to them. However when he drew closer, he accidentally overheard their conversation.

"You know I honestly like how that shade of red in your clothes compliments your hair colour", said Sakuya with a smile.

"Thanks but to be honest", she said twirling a few strands of her hair "I'm thinking it's time to try and change my wardrobe a little. You know maybe something in blue".

"GOD NO", shouted James behind them causing the duo to stop and turn to him with surprised expressions.

"NO, NO, NO DON'T EVER CHANGE YOU HEAR ME. YOU'RE PERFECTLY FINE THE WAY YOU ARE", he shouted and before either of them could react he suddenly turned around and ran in the opposite direction.


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

The abyss awakened

It was now three weeks after the Aegis incident and everything had gone back to their usual routine. Reports were being made, mission intel was delivered and god eaters went out on missions. All the teams continued to hunt aragami like normal. It was an almost surreal feeling that only a little while ago, the entire base was divided on whether or not they would stay or leave but time marches on without any concern and everyone had to forget the past and move forward.

Which was why on a Saturday night, James and Alisa were slowly walking back towards the far east branch. They had just watched a movie with the rest of the team as well as everyone in the ghetto and had opted to walk back home instead of taking the van like the others.

"You know that sort of movie does bring to mind some interesting points from a superhero perspective", mused James.

"You mean the sex scenes?" asked Alisa with a glare towards him.

"Well it does bring out an interesting point don't you think? I mean she'd have to be extra careful during those sessions with the guy. Think about it, she's in the moment, he's in the moment, they're both enjoying it and then *SNAP, no more romps in the sack".

"Ugh you're such a pervert", she said whacking him on the arm.

"And what about if the guy had those superpowers… holy hell talk about your shattered or broken pelvis", he added but got another shot from her in the arm once again.

"Hey James", she asked looking to the skies "Do you think about things like that? You know, romance or going out on a date?"

"Nah," he replied casually "Got too many things to do right now."

James quietly stole a glance at Alisa who did not like the answer but didn't ask too much about it. Truth be told, when asked about that question he had to lie because recently he started to see one of the members in the far east branch in a different light.

That one person just happened to be walking beside him.

James kept thinking about the dream that he had and the implications. As much as he tried to deny it, it seemed that on some level he was attracted to the Alisa. That being said there was no way of knowing if this was a passing thought that would fade away in time and he did not honestly want to talk about it to anyone either.

"You know I might not be interested in anyone", he said lying again "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm a hopeless romantic".

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously

"Part of me always like romance for some reason. The whole concept of people being able to overcome all kinds of differences and then fall in love… that sounds amazing don't you think?"

"True", she said smiling a little "By the way, I'm thinking about making something for dinner tonight. Interested in keeping me company?"

James first gave out a nervous chuckle before answering "Can I tell you tomorrow? We've got a tough mission ahead of us and I want to focus on that first".

The mission that James talked about had the retaliation team go up against an Ouroboros. James never faced that many with his previous team but he remembered how dangerously big and destructive those things were. The thing was last seen in the plains with the tornado but at its current rate of progress it would reach the temple by tomorrow.

After a good night of sleep and getting something to eat for breakfast, the four of them got in the copters and headed to the frozen temple. They got off and took a moment to collect themselves.

It did not take long for them to feel the ground around them starting to shake.

"Please tell me someone forgot to have their breakfast today", said Kota nervously but no one said anything.

In a moment they saw the aragami in question come around the corner. To say that it was large was an understatement. The aragami would make the quadriga look puny in comparison. More than half of it's body was made of a strange black mass while it moved forward with the help of two gigantic feet. The back of the aragami was hardened with some moss growing on it along with some small spikes. The face of the creature was probably a few inches longer than a human and it had around half a dozen eyes which scanned the area before one eye locked onto the four of them.

"James?" asked Sakuya taking a step back "You have any plans?"

"Same as always, Sakuya and Kota flank it and shoot that thing as much as possible", he said "Alisa and I will go ahead to face it head on. Hit hard, move fast and keep a close eye on that thing. I don't need to remind you that one hit from that thing and it's a week in the emergency room".

They all nodded then moved into their positions. As Alisa and James drew closer, the aragami was bombarded on both sides by fire from their gunners. The bullets did land on the enemy but it did little to no damage at all. The aragami slowly came forward, its body raising to reveal a mass of roots that seemed to take the form of its arms.

The aragami rose up then dug its hands into the ground causing multiple spikes to shoot out all over the ground. This caused everyone to stop what they were doing and move around to avoid getting hit. When the attack stopped James charged forward to stab it with the spear but his weapon barely penetrated the surface of the creature.

"Damn it", he hissed as the aragami turned to him then its arms shot out to try and hit him. He jumped up in time to avoid it and started hacking away at the exposed limbs.

Sakuya noticed that while James continued his attack, the aragami looked visibly hurt by those actions.

"James, keep hitting it", she shouted and James got the message.

"Alright everyone switch up on the offense", he called out "Kota and Sakuya, hit it's face. Alisa help me with the limbs."

They nodded in compliance then moved to their new positions, Kota fired a constant stream of bullets while Sakuya went for precision shots that were aimed for the eyes. Just like the limbs underneath, they found that the face was another weakness of the aragami.

"Keep the pressure up", he shouted as the team pressed forward, increasing the intensity of their attack. The aragami continued to take on the attack for a while before it stood on its feet. Alisa and James watched helplessly as the Ouroboros let its hands fall down before it suddenly spun around, using its limbs to knock the two attackers into the air.

Kota and Sakuya cried out at this but quickly went back on the attack. Meanwhile James shot his grappling hook into one of the buildings then swung towards Alisa, catching her in the air and turning himself so that it was his back that hit the building and not her.

"You okay?" he asked looking at her She nodded and he lowered the both of them. Now safe on the ground the two of them resumed their attack. Luckily for them Sakuya fired a few healing rounds, mitigating the damage they sustained.

They saw the aragami rise up again about to use the ground spike attack from earlier which was good news for them. James threw a barrage of knives in ascending order to create his platform. He used that to get high into the air then unleashed a torrent of spear thrusts into the aragami's face, preventing the attack from happening.

At that time, Kota and Sakuya fired a concentrated barrage of fire at the right leg of the aragami, causing the bonds it has to break and force it to fall down. The gunners continued firing at its head while Alisa hacked away at the eyes, trying to weaken it.

Still in the air, James chose his spot carefully then came down with his spear extended. This translated with him hitting his spear and him shooting through the head of the aragami, putting it down once and for all.

Alisa and Kota cautiously came towards the hole in the aragami's head then hopped back when they saw some aragami blood shoot up. Luckily for them, the only thing that happened after that was James slowly got out of the hole he made in his target.

"Man that was a wicked one", he said still a bit shaky. He slid down the head of the opponent where the others met him then said with a smile "We should do that again".

On hearing this, the two sighed a little. The team met back with Sakuya and after that they got on the copter and came back to the base. Unfortunately they found that when aragami blood dries, it emits a terrible odour. This was why when they landed on the ground, James was immediately carted off to his room and was not allowed to come outside till he washed the stink off of him.

"Yo", said James poking his head through the door.

"Have you got that smell off you?" asked Alisa narrowing her gaze

"Yes", he said with his expression turning sour "You know you're the tenth person to ask me that".

"With good reason", she said "Nearly everyone thought something died her and was rotting for a month."

"Well that's pretty articulate", he said with a now glum expression "Can I come in yet or are there more questions?"

"Yes you can come in", she said and when he was inside she asked "By the way James, why did you come here?"

"Ah you forgot", he said sitting on one of the chairs "You invited me over for dinner, remember?"

It was at this point where she remembered her proposal from last night and immediately became red in the face, causing her to apologize profusely.

"Relax it's not that big a deal", he said getting up "I'll get something from the cafeteria."

"Wait James", she called out just as his hand neared the door. After that it took a little convincing on her part to remind him that he was not troubling her but eventually he did agree to stay and wait for her to make dinner.

It did not take long for the girl to return with two plates of food in her hand. She set it on the table and James took his place while examining the ingredients. There was a thick dark red gravy with some greens thrown in for aesthetics. There was also a generous serving of meat and a well baked potato beside it. All in all, the whole thing looked pretty appetizing.

"Wow", he said in admiration looking at the food. He noticed Alicia giving him an expectant stare and immediately took a spoon and scooped up some of the gravy.

"Well", she asked waiting for him to respond "What do you think?"

"Amazing", he said in a sing song voice and smiled from ear to ear "This is amazing Alisa".

"It's nothing", she said trying to calm him down "Just a little something I put together that's all".

"James…" she asked, an errant thought entered her mind "Are we… on a date?"

The teen immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at her a little confused then answered "No… this is us, two friends just hanging out".

"Yeah, you're right", she replied despite feeling a little hurt at his answer.

While Alisa continued to eat her meal, James stole quick glances at her and did his best to keep his expression neutral. He did that because he knew that deep down, he was starting to develop a romantic interest in the girl opposite to him.


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: looking back I've noticed that the fights are often pretty quick and clean making the aragami to be weak AF while the god eaters are pretty powerful. From this arc onwards I'm going to try and keep the fighting a little more gritty, so that both sides don't look too over powered or too weak.

The immutable lizard

The trouble that came from developing a romantic interest in a co-worker were as follows: nearly everything that the person did took on a whole new meaning. Second was that it became increasingly difficult to act normal around the person in question. Finally, the person in question now became the only thing that the admirer could think about.

Try as he might to avoid as much contact with the girl he now kept thinking about a lot, it was a hard task to do when the girl was on the same team as he is and lived in the same building that he did. He finished his breakfast much faster than normal, eager to leave and go out on as many missions as possible.

Unfortunately for him, his infectious behaviour of being a workaholic had passed onto other members of his team like Sakuya, Hibari and of course Alisa.

The last name on the list came out of the elevator dressed in her usual clothing. She moved a little slower than normal because of the fact that she was working on her hair. Normally this would cause James to steal glances at her followed by him realizing what he was doing and admonishing himself for the action.

But luckily for James though, he recognized what was going on and developed a countermeasure. Underneath his glove, he hid a simple device that rendered a static shock whenever it was touched. He would often press the button whenever he thought about her for too long or if he caught himself staring at her. This acted as a form of aversion therapy which worked in the short run but it was clearly a temporary measure. He needed to get rid of these feelings as quickly as he could.

"Hey James", she greeted with a big smile on her face but James was clearly thinking about something else. She repeated the salutation from before and this time he acknowledged her with a gentle smile.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked then shocked himself when she took a seat beside him.

"I went to sleep pretty early so I got up early too. I was hoping I could join in on your training session", she replied sitting a little closer to him.

"Sorry I finished my training. Going to go out now and cause some trouble for the aragami", he said slowly getting up

"Actually James Ms. Tsubaki asked me to make sure that all members of the first unit to remain on standby for now", said Hibari stopping him mid-rise.

"Does this have something to do with the aragami murders?" he asked.

According to the reports from the recon team, there were multiple occasions where they saw the corpses of aragami torn limb from limb. Monkeys, fishes, tanks, vajras and many others fell victim to an unknown force. Aragami that would have caused a lot of trouble to most teams were annihilated like they were nothing.

Normally this wouldn't be a cause for concern as aragami killing other aragami was good news to everyone that's human, but there always existed the possibility that the aragami killed could turn on and attack humans as well. Rather than that happening, it would be prudent for the god eaters to locate and kill the aragami slayer before it came for them.

That was a good plan in theory but finding the target was much harder than anticipated. If what Hibari said was true then it meant the intelligence division had to have narrowed down a location.

The question of what kind of creature they were trying to face was a welcome thought to James who used this time to reflect on what kind of strategies or ideas he'd need to incorporate in the upcoming mission. While they waited for Kota and Sakuya to wake up and get ready for the day, Alisa took the time to do some light reading. She did notice from time to time that James would uncannily flinch for some unknown reason before he reverted to that thoughtful expression.

Eventually the call from Tsubaki came and the four of them now gathered in the briefing room. The information was pretty sparse but it was the best they had. The intelligence team had found the aragami in the ruined city with the tornado. Apparently there were plenty of aragami in the area which meant it would be taking some time to kill all the aragami there.

Not wanting to waste such an opportunity, the four of them set out without wasting any time. They got onto the copter and within no time they were at the location.

"Alright we're going to try something here. It's called the wishbone, normally it's a play that people use in football but this time we're trying something else", he said to the team "Kota and Sakuya will take up their usual positions as rear attack. Hit the enemy with as many bullets as you can and then some. I'll be charging ahead with Alisa in the rear position. Just as we saw with the Ourobors, this is a new aragami so there's no telling what kind of powers it has or how it moves."

"The reason I'll be facing it on my own is because I want Alisa to study its moves and search for openings. When you see them you capitalize on it, sound good".

"James this plan hinges on you being able to endure the aragami's attacks long enough for Alisa to figure out the weaknesses", objected Sakuya to which James casually mentioned "Life's no fun if you play it safe all the time".

'You never play it safe', thought all three of them at the same time while James went ahead of them. As much as all of them wanted James to exercise some kind of caution but that was not in his nature. As they had learned well enough, he may have a plan but he'll still be the first person charging head first into the unknown.

As they contemplated that, they saw James running back with a frantic look in his eyes.

"OHHHH CRAPPPPPP!" he shouted while right behind him was a giant aragami that they had never seen before. It took the form of a lizard, it's body mostly coloured in silver with traces of blue and gold here and there. It had a gauntlet on one arm and a pair of stone protrusions on its back. The aragami leapt and came down at James with a claw swipe but he flipped back just in time to avoid that.

"Alright team stick with the plan", he called out and everyone got into their positions. The lizard aragami turned around and continued to swipe at James but he either blocked and deflected the attacks or dodged them. Sakuya fired at its legs to try and knock it off balance while Kota shot at the head chest and the arms.

James thrust his spear forward but was shocked when he saw the thing instinctually flip back and dodge.

'The hell?' he thought 'No way are aragami smart enough to dodge. Is this one of those anomalies?'

His answers would have to wait however when the aragami rose its armour covered arm up, creating a lance made of fire and threw it at James. He was able to move aside to dodge it but the lance did hit Kota. Sakuya immediately switched from offence to recovery, firing multiple healing bullets and going to where Kota was.

The aragami swiped left and right. James dodged the first then landed on the right arm. He ran up the aragami's arm then leapt off and attacked with a barrage of spear thrusts to it's face. The aragami moved back a little, seemingly wiping its face (which seemed like an oddly human thing to do) before it stood up on one hand and spun around to attack with its powerful tail. James was able to dodge the attack but he saw it shatter the buildings and take out a chunk of the hill beside him, showcasing how insanely powerful this target was.

The aragami wasted no time going on the offensive as it darted forward and attacked with another swipe from both its arms, this time the attack did land as it knocked James high into the air. The lizard turned its attention to Alisa, slowly walking towards her.

It's march was stopped when it was hit by multiple bullets from up above. Both Alisa and the aragami looked up and saw James running down a building, yelling like a madman as he continued firing at the target.

The aragami leapt onto the building about to pursue the target but James leapt right over it then turned around and fired a few more bullets at the target. Sakuya and Kota returned to the fray, momentarily pausing when they saw James hit the ground but resumed their attack when he got back up like nothing even happened.

The aragami let out a defiant roar of anger as it now kicked against the building, propelling it into the air where it arched its right arm back.

"Everyone move", shouted James realizing what would happen but they were too late. The aragami came down with the power of a crashing mountain behind it. When its fist hit the ground, it caused the area around it to be completely engulfed in fire which knocked the entire team back.

The beast then emerged through the fire and as if it wanted to add insult to injury, it created a pair of knives on its hands and spun around to land deep and heavy blows on its four opponents.

James slowly got to his feet, wiping the blood off his mouth and nose. At times like this, his hand instinctually moved to his face. If he wanted to survive, he would have to remove the physical restraints he placed on himself, thus reverting him back to the soldier he used to be.

However he could not do that when he saw the others were also recovering as well.

"God damn aragami", hissed James and charged forward. The others saw the aragami attack James with a multitude of strikes but he batted them all away with his spear. As if the weapon seemingly danced around him, creating an impervious field that prevent any of the aragami's attacks from coming close to him at all.

James deflected another attack from the beast then spun around and swung his spear to land a heavy blow on the aragami's knees, thus forcing it to the ground. He immediately turned back to his team then held his hand out.

They realized what he wanted to do and Alisa ran forward while Kota and Sakuya took flanking positions and attacked the aragami. She grabbed James' hand and he quickly turned around then propelled her high into the air.

The aragami rose up to attack but James quickly jabbed it in the chest. The lizard caught James off guard though when it suddenly shot out a set of fireballs which knocked him away, causing him to let go of his god arc. The aragami tried to run away but stopped when Sakuya hit it on the side of the face. It turned around and saw James taking off his red jacket and start to wave it. Like an enraged bull to a matador, the aragami charged forward with its arms draped in the flame shaped knives from before as it readied itself to rip its target apart.

At the last second though, James tossed his jacket at the thing, then let go of a few pins that he was holding. It was too late that the aragami saw the flashbangs which the god eater concealed in his jacket. All of them detonated and engulfed the battlefield in a white light for more than ten seconds before colour came back into their world.

When the aragami looked forward, it saw James still standing in the same position as before but this time, his hand was pointing up. The aragami had no time to react and paid the price for it when Alisa's blade rammed through the top of its head and emerged out at the bottom.

Alisa stood on top of the aragami, her sword still in place. The other three took the moment to ensure that the aragami was indeed dead. After ten seconds passed and the enemy showed no signs of movement, they all breathed a sigh of relief while Alisa jumped off her target with a triumphant look on her face.

"Well that was pretty fun", remarked James retrieving his spear from the fallen aragami "Who's up for dinner and a coffee, but I'll have a tea though."

"Is everyone still feeling good?" asked Sakuya with a look of concern on her face "We all took some pretty serious damage

"My chest does sting a little", replied Kota

"My legs feel a little shaky from being thrown so high up and hitting the ground", stated Alisa

"Little loopy and tired now that the adrenalines starting to fade but that's okay", added James.

"Guess we can wrap this one up", declared Kota with a fist of triumph "Man at this rate I'm going to be a legend before I even hit thirty".

"Yeah, yeah", said Sakuya with a glum expression "Let's just go home and turn in the report oh legendary one".

"Isn't it normally me who does the report?" asked James looking confused

"Well If you like I can help you", said Alisa to which James immediately objected. As he headed back to the safe zone, James was the only one who noticed that it suddenly got a little brighter. Worriedly he turned around and was shocked to see that the aragami they thought they had killed was now floating in the air. As if that was not enough, the protrusions on its back were gone, allowing it to form a halo on its back along with three pairs of wings that were surely not just there for aesthetic purposes.

The aragami let out another fierce roar, indicating the fight was not over. It now formed a pair of flame knives and flew towards the attackers, picking out one in particular.

Kota turned around and his life flashed before his eyes. From the moment he saw his mother till now, everything passed by him in a series of fast clips as he knew that this was the end for him.

However death would not come to Kota Fujiki today as at the last moment, James stood before him and took the full brunt of the aragami's attack with his god arc. The boy was catapulted into the air while his shield and the god arc that he used were now broken in two.


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Stupidity at its finest

James groaned angrily while he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw were the badly coloured painted ceiling of the medical room and the first thing he smelt was alcohol and medicine. He slowly turned to his right and saw Alisa with her head resting on the bed, her eyes closed to show she was sound asleep.

He rose up a little, wondering if he should wake her up and decided not to. Whatever she was dreaming of seemed peaceful so he did not want to end that. Instead he quietly got off the bed and made his way outside. Right now he had to get some answers about what happened with the mission.

"James", cried out Sakuya, watching him leave the elevator. She ran towards him and immediately embraced him before letting him go "What are you doing out so soon? You should be resting."

"I'm too stubborn to lie down", he said without any of the light heartedness he normally had "Tell me what happened to the mission."

Sakuya made him sit on one of the chairs then told him everything. The mission was a failure as they had to head back to the base while carrying his unconscious body. After they got back, Dr. Sakaki told them that the aragami was in fact dead for about two minutes. The problem was that the core was somehow able to revive itself, which was something unprecedented in aragami history. As such it was designated an 'S' class aragami and all troops were issued a do not engage order if they were to come into contact with it.

"How's Kota doing?" he asked

"He's beating himself up over you taking the hit for him", she replied with a weak smile.

"I'll be back in a minute", he said heading to the elevator "Please stay here, I want to talk about what happened to my god arc as well".

It was a good thing that James did not turn around as he didn't see the grim expression on Sakuya's face when the question was asked. James got back to the medical room just in time to notice Alisa slowly open her eyes.

"You're up", she said with a half awake smile. She blinked a couple of times realizing what she just said and shot up, giving him a confused look "You're up", she repeated.

"James you're supposed to be resting, get back to bed right now", she said pointing to the bed he was sleeping on

"No time for that", he said rubbing his nose and looking away, not wanting her to see how much he was blushing "I'm up, I'm back and I am 100 percent and I'm ready to go out aragami hunting. Have Kota meet us in the lounge while I go get my god arc."

"James, Sakuya didn't tell you?" asked Alisa

"Tell me what?"

He gave out a shrill and childish cry when he saw the broken god arc resting on top of the table. Sakuya and Alisa grimaced a little as James now fell to the ground rolling from side to side like a child.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked LIcca looking genuinely concerned.

"He needs to get it out of his system, leave him be", said Sakuya waving her hand.

"SKY PIERCER", cried James now resting his head on the table and picking up some of the broken pieces "My poor sky piercer"

"You named your god arc?" asked Alisa with a raised eyebrow

"Of course I did", he replied then turned back to his god arc and continued to sob but didn't shed a single tear.

"THIS WILL NOT STAND", he shouted all of a sudden "I SWEAR SKY PIERCER, ON MY HONOUR, I WILL FIND THAT DAMNED ARAGAMI THAT DID THIS TO YOU AND BUTCHER IT FOR ITS SINS".

"ON THIS DAY I SWEAR BLOODY AND UNHOLY REVENGE ON THE DEMON LIZARDS HEAD. I WILL DYE THE ENTIRE FAR EAST'S BRANCH IN THA CREATURES BLOOD. I DON'T CARE HOW MANY TIMES IT'S CORE REGENERATES EITHER. I'LL YANK THE DAMN THING OUT OF ITS BODY AND RIP IT APART WITH MY BARE HANDS."

"REVENGEEEEEE", he yelled out to summarize his earlier rant.

"James the god arc doesn't blame you for what happened", said Licca with a reassuring pat on his shoulder "She was happy that she got to protect you and promises to keep protecting you once she's back to normal".

"Say what now?" he asked looking completely different from the sobbing mess he was two seconds ago "You can speak to the god arcs?"

"Not exactly, I can sometimes hear what they're thinking", she replied trying to find the right words for it "And your… 'sky piercer' was a god arc that you really took care of. She appreciated that which is why she doesn't blame you for what happened."

"Then if you can, please tell her I'm going to avenge her", he said holding Licca's hands in his own "I'm going out now to get glorious and unholy revenge on that damned aragami".

As he marched towards the entrance with a new purpose in mind, Sakuya asked with her back turned towards him "How are you going to do that without a god arc".

There had to be a record for how quickly James shifted from his usual composed self, to a sobbing mess upon hearing the question. The three girls looked at him rolling around and wondered if this indeed was the same person that once faced an aragami army on his own.

Despite all his protests (and whining) to Tsubaki and Dr. Sakaki, the answer was obvious; without his god arc James was no longer allowed to go into the field. Till Licca finished with the repairs and was completely sure that the sky piercer was back to normal, James was benched till further notice.

This was of course bad news to James who was seen sitting on the lounge sofa with a defeated expression. It looked like his spirit left him

"He's been like that the whole day", muttered Hibari to Alisa with a concerned look "Do you think you can do something to cheer him up?"

Alisa grimaced at the idea, cheering someone up was definitely not a strong point for her. All she could do was sit beside him and wait for some idea to pop into her head. So it surprised her when all of a sudden James let out a sudden wail and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I miss my god arc", he said weakly.

"It's alright James", she said stroking his head a little "I'm sure you'll be back to causing trouble later on".

James at the moment said nothing. He simply turned to her then sniffed a little bit before saying "Your hair smells nice, did you do something?"

"Uh, I'm using a mango flavoured shampoo", she said getting slightly flushed "How did you notice?"

"I have a good sense of smell", he said returning to his earlier position.

She wanted to stay a little longer with him like this but all of a sudden they heard alarms blaring, causing everyone to stand to attention. The duo quickly went to Hibari's desk

"Multiple aragami readings both in and around the branch", she said "All god eaters are to report on the lower levels and defend the base".

Alisa nodded and immediately started running towards the other elevator.

"Have they managed to cordon off the other levels to prevent the aragami from breaching?" he asked her.

"Almost all of them are taken care of", she said typing on the desk "Wait, the god arc storage, there's still someone there?"

"Damn it", hissed James darting in the direction of the elevator. Rather than wait for the elevator to come up, James headed to the stairs and frantically ran down fifteen flights of stairs till he finally reached the god arc storage.

When he got there, he found Licca was closing all the storage cases. The mechanic turned to him, immediately getting worried then shouted "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here", he replied just as they heard a crashing noise. The two looked ahead and saw an ogretail had breached the inside of the facility.

In that moment, the world began to slow down and James' mind started scanning all the possibilities. He reached into his jacket and took out his gun, firing one round after another into the aragami to hold it back. His eyes were drawn to the one god arc that was still not shielded. He darted towards the weapon, hearing Licca cry out "James don't do it".

But it was too late. His hand grabbed the chainsaw blade that belonged to Lindow Amamiya and took it off the case. The second he did, his mind was hit with multiple images along with an intense pain shooting from his left hand all the way up to his head. If that wasn't enough, he was now seeing flashes of something else.

Images of someone running… running in the temple… running from what… no running to something. Hungry… an intense hunger, a desire to destroy and there was pain… so much pain but it wasn't just his pain alone. It was someone else's… someone not him…

James grit his teeth as tight as he possibly could and ignored the spikes and scales forming on his left hand. He was able to focus on the problem ahead of him and rose to his feet, despite the incredible pain.

"This is nothing", he shouted and ran towards the ogretail. He swung up, landing a deep cut on the ogretails face then swung down to land another hit. The ogretail winced back in pain then spun around and used its tail to hit James into the wall beside Licca. The girl cried out as James slumped to the floor and struggled to stand.

"You must fight", shouted another voice. He looked up and saw a boy, looking much younger than him wielding a god arc in gun mode "You must stand up and fight my friend".

The boy took a step forward and fired at the ogretail. Feeling renewed strength, James ran forward like a man possessed and spun around with the sword pointed outwards. The sword cut through the aragami with little to no effort, culminating in him standing behind the ogretail, not watching it separate into chunks and fall to the ground.

"Whoo now that's what I call…. Oh damn here I go", he said before collapsing to the ground and closing his eyes.

'At this point I should just book a room here', was his first thought when he opened his eyes to find that he was back in the same place from before.

He slowly got up and saw Licca sighing in relief before she came forward to embrace him.

"Damn it James you can't do something so reckless", she chided while still holding onto him.

"Haha, well sorry about that", he said rubbing his head but wincing a little.

"You had me worried sick when you suddenly collapsed like that", she said finally letting him go "Are you sure you're feeling ok?"

"Yeah", he said and the girl smiled at him. She got up then said "I'll go tell Dr. Sakaki you woke up. He'll check on you again just to make sure."

He nodded to her and left. James turned around then saw someone else sitting beside him. It was the boy from before.

"Oh dude I didn't notice you, sorry about that", he said.

"You don't have to apologize", said the kid rubbing his head as well "This was an important moment so I didn't want to interrupt".

"Thanks for saving my life buddy", said James extending his hand out "I didn't even get your name".

"Ren Kusanagi", he replied and shook James' hand "Licca is a really nice girl. She stayed with you the whole time to make sure that you're okay".

James thought back to what had happened, how he grabbed Lindow's god arc…. And then it hit him. He sprang out of his bed all of a sudden, ignoring the questions from Ren and darted towards the main room. As he ran towards his objective, he passed by Alisa, Sakuya and Hibari who all shouted at him but he chose not to listen right now.

There was something else infinitely more important than them and he had to inform Tsubaki and the doctor about it.

James barged into his superior's room as Dr. Sakaki looked at him and said "James good to see you. I was just about to come and give you a check up".

"Captain Castor you are not medically cleared to leave", barked Tsubaki "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Punish me later I don't care", he said as he hit the table and looked at the two of them, his face covered in sweat. They both noticed the serious look on his face so they momentarily waited for him to say what he needed to before they responded.

"Lindow", he said breathing hard "Lindow's alive".

AN: boom… now we're starting the next arc of the first god eater storyline. BTW I know Ren's name doesn't have Kusanagi but I thought it appropriate seeing as he is the manifestation of a sword.


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

A new development

"James what are you talking about?" asked the doctor while James paced from side to side.

"I saw it… I saw visions and bits of memories when I touched the god arc", he replied "And in those visions I was watching it through the eyes of someone else. And it was him, it was Lindow"

"We have to go out there now, send a search team, gather our resources and and".

"James", shouted Tsubaki finally calming him down and he turned to her

"Normally when you touch someone else's god arc, your oracle cells immediately reject the weapon, causing you to undergo a terrible mutation and turn into an aragami", she said "However you survived that for reasons we have yet to know. Due to that you may have experienced or felt something you thought was real which is why you're here today. James I'm asking you to please think carefully and approach this rationally."

"I know what I saw boss", he said looking at her with defiant eyes "Call it instinct or the madness of a lunatic but I'm telling you I am one thousand percent sure now that he's alive and every second we spend here debating the issue, makes it all the more harder for us to save him".

As much as he made a good case, Sakaki and Tsubaki exchanged unsure looks with each other.

"Alright fine don't start a task force or anything", he said with a sigh "But give me permission to launch an independent investigation into the new information I obtained. I promise to spend my regular days doing my work; killing aragami and looking good doing it. But at night I will go out and investigate into any and all possible leads. If this turns out to be wrong then we lose nothing. But if it turns out right…"

Sakaki looked thoughtful for a moment then asked "You're going to do this even if I say no aren't you?"

"Yeah pretty much, just thought It'd be good to get permission", he said with a shrug.

Tsubaki looked at James then glared at Sakaki. The doctor said "What am I to do? As much as logic and reasoning dictates that what happened was a fluke… the boy has a way of making the impossible happen".

"You have the permission to perform the investigation James. That said you will not mention any of this to your teammates until we have verifiable evidence."

James saluted then turned around and left the room. The two waited a while till Tsubaki gave a concerned look to Sakaki and asked him "Do you really think it's possible? That Lindow is alive?"

"If it is true then given how long he's been away, it would take a miracle to save him. Let's just hope that James has one of those in his jacket", said Sakaki with a thoughtful expression.

"James I can't believe you did something so stupid", shouted Alisa the second he got out of the elevator and entered the lounge area.

He looked at her in confusion for a moment then realized what she was talking about. He let out a casual laugh as he scratched his head.

"This isn't something you can just laugh off", she said pointing a finger at him "You realize what could have happened to you?"

"Hmm… you think I would have turned into some cool aragami or just one of the regulars?" he asked with a casual smile but instead of lightening the mood, the girl retaliated to his response with a slap to the face and stunned him to silence.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened if you turned into an aragami?" she asked with fury in her voice and sadness in her eyes "Just think about how terrible it would have been for the rest of us. Stop acting like this is not a big deal and realize just how dangerous of a situation you were in."

As much as she wanted to get through to James, he simply chuckled a little then stood beside her.

"If ever there's a point in time where I'm infected and about to turn… I'll put a bullet in my head".

After getting his ear chewed out by Sakuya, Hibari, Licca and Kota for touching someone else's god arc, James took some time to collect his thoughts. Everything that happened during that attack was a hell of a blur and if he didn't act soon, those memories would be gone as with the only way of saving his friend.

Which was why he was sitting on the helipad, his legs were crossed and his eyes were closed. He took in a deep breath and recalled the static images and memories that came when he touched the sword. As usual it was string of crazy and random images that didn't make a lick of sense but he was not in the mood to give up.

Clenching his teeth and focusing his mind even further, the images were slowly starting to come together. The memories that were once garbled and incoherent finally came together like pieces of a puzzle. Finally the picture had come together and when that happened, the fire inside him was lit and James was ready to start his mission.

While that was going on, Tsubaki informed him that there would be some new recruits coming in and it would be his job to help them with their orientation. With his god arc still in repair, he spent his time looking at satellite images of the mission areas from the past seven months in an effort to find any information that would point him in the right direction.

"Damn it", he said biting his nail and leaned back when he found nothing. This was his eightieth file with nothing besides aragami running around and eating each other. He took a moment to tilt his head back and let out a bored yawn.

"Getting bored from having too much free time on your hands?" asked Hibari resting her head on her hands.

"You have no idea how boring this all is", he said swaying from side to side "Hibari, there has to be something you do here when everyone else is out causing trouble?"

"Sorry James I have plenty of work so I don't have time to think about that", she said and watched her friend flail his arms about then hang his head in defeat, eliciting an amused chuckle from her.

After a few more days of doing nothing (and avoiding Alisa) James was called to the lounge by Tsubaki, most probably to meet the new recruits. When he got there he saw Tsubaki standing along with two unknown faces and Ren.

'Was he one of the new recruits?' he wondered then shrugged. Not like it mattered anyway, more boots on the ground meant more members for each team which was always a good thing.

It was now he took a moment to properly examine the three new recruits. Ren had clack hair and orange eyes. He wore on a black buttoned up shirt with a white vest on top that was tied up by a red ribbon and long red boots.

The other boy beside Ren had black hair tied up by a bandana and reddish brown eyes. His choice of clothing was a multi coloured jacket and dark green pants.

The only girl of the group had reddish brown eyes and blonde hair. She wore a standard issue blue Fenrir coat with a white shirt underneath. She also had blue length socks and matching rubber shoes.

"James meet Annette Koenig and Frederico Caruso", said Tsubaki and the three of them immediately saluted. She now turned to the two and said "James here will take care of your orientation as well as join you on the first two missions to help you ease into things."

The boy in question raised his hand up to point something out but Tsubaki immediately headed to the elevator and left.

"Don't worry about it", said Ren patting him on the shoulder "I came in earlier than the others and already introduced myself here so she didn't feel the need to do the introductions again".

"Ah right, that makes sense… I guess", said James still not fully believing that.

"Um, James?" said Annette and he turned around

"By any chance… are you the one everyone calls Vanguard?" asked Frederico

"Wait", said James with surprise "You guys know about that? How far did that story spread?"

"Holy hell Annette he really is the Vanguard", exclaimed Frederico "It was so amazing what you did".

"Yeah, that was really cool", added Annette as the two new recruits drew closer to James and asked him a multitude of questions. The teen turned to Ren looking for a lifeline in the middle of this but found that his companion was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually he was able to answer all their questions which was able to calm them down. Once that happened, he got them seated then spoke

"Today I'll go easy on you so we won't be doing anything crazy", he said right off the bat "Tomorrow morning however you're to report in the training room at 6am on the dot. We'll do a little sparring so I can get a better idea of our new teammates and their fighting style."

"So for now go around the place, meet the rest of the teams and our support staff, make friends and enjoy your day. Any questions Annette or Frederico?"

"Well you don't have to call me by my whole name captain", said Annette "You can call me Annie".

"And you can call me Fred or Rico", said Frederico.

James made sure to make a note of that then let them leave.

"You think it was too much?" asked Alisa to Sakuya while they headed back from the mission with Kota and Soma.

"The slap? Not one bit", she replied "Sometimes James has the habit of going over the line and needs to be reined in. Doing that from time to time is always a good thing."

"It's true", added Soma "He's a good leader and a good god eater but he tends to go overboard a lot of times. As such it's our job as his friends and teammates to knock some sense into him from time to time".

"Trust me, he's going to apologize for behaving so complacent when you two finally meet", said Sakuya.

Night turned to day and by the time Alisa awoke and headed to the lounge, she spotted James coming from the training room with Annette and Frederico. Judging from their clothing, it looked like he sparred with them a little but that was not important right now.

"Well it's a good thing your two styles compliment each other", said James "But make sure that you try and cover up those weaknesses as well just to be on the safe side."

"Hey Alisa", he said turning to her "We were just finishing up on today's training, you want to come with us and have breakfast?"

The girl agreed to it and soon the four of them found themselves getting their morning meal then heading to a table to sit. Alisa waited till James took his spot then sat next to him, prompting the new recruits to sit together but on the opposite side. During that time James got the new recruits to talk about their time training in Germany and how they became such good friends. This caused Alisa to also talk about her time training in Russia.

The one bit of news that truly made his day was when Licca told him that his god arc was finally repaired and ready for use. An elated James practically darted from the lounge to the lower areas where he took his god arc and was eager to go do a couple of missions. Unfortunately for him though, everyone else was already out on their own missions which meant he would either have to wait or go it alone.

Seeing an opportunity emerge, James opted for the latter and headed to one of the abandoned power stations where there were reports of borg camlaan's and fallen monkeys running around. This move was called into question by both Hibari and later the helicopter pilot who both wondered if this was indeed the right move for him to make.

When he got there, he waited till the helicopter was out of sight before waving a free hand over his face, causing the colour of his eyes to shift from a defiant red to an apathetic blue.

"Ah it feels good to be myself again", he said with a hum then fell from a three storey height onto the back of a camlaan, thus starting his mission.

AN: now I think it's time we introduce a few deusphages. About time those super aragami get a chance to cause trouble.


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Evolved enemy

True to his word, James balanced his regular work with his investigation. By day he would go out with the teams and hunt down aragami after aragami but in the night, his attention was focused on getting any clues that would point him in the right direction.

This was why he stood alone in the snow temple. One of the good things about being alone was that he could be his actual self and not the fake self that everyone in the far east had come to know and respect. Of course he didn't go completely down the rabbit hole in that he still resorted to using his spear for fighting instead of his scythe.

The sound of the alarm continued beeping, refusing to stop despite her wishes. This caused her arm to swing out in an arc till it hit the clock thus ending the constant and irritating noise. The girl slowly raised herself up then looked around.

With a long yawn, Alisa looked at the time on the clock and muttered "Stupid earliness", to herself before dragging her half asleep form off the bed and went straight to the bathroom. She cleaned herself up then changed into her regular clothes before leaving the room and starting her day.

As much as she tried to wake up early enough to be part of his training sessions, Alisa often slept in causing her to miss it. Today was no different as well as she saw when she entered the lounge James come from another elevator with his workout clothes and a bottle of water in his hand. By the way the clothes half clung onto his body it looked like he was still in the cooling off period

'Missed it again', she chided herself mentally. He noticed her then greeted his friend with a wave and she did the same.

"So", he asked walking towards her "What do we have planned for the day?"

"I don't know", she said with a shrug "Aren't you supposed to be the one that knows about upcoming missions?"

Alisa noticed James pause for a moment then laugh a little, giving her some excuse. She did find it a bit strange that he didn't know what was on the docket for today seeing as his nights were spent working with Hibari.

"There you are", said Hibari coming up the stairs "You didn't show up last night, what happened James?"

"I was feeling a little lazy yesterday so I thought I would turn in a little early that's all", he said then casually changed the subject "So what do we have to kill today?"

"They're called Deusphages", replied Hibari while handing over two tablets to James and Alisa, each one with pictures of aragami on them.

"They're considered to be the most dangerous type of aragami we've ever seen. Each one of them is capable of annihilating an entire street if left unchecked", she explained "Today you're going after this type, the fierce kongou. Their fighting style is similar to the kongou's you've already faced but this one uses electricity as its element. It's considered to be somewhat intelligent so be careful and don't let it corner you".

"Got it", said James and Alisa saw him go to the team roster, selecting her, Soma and Kota this time instead of Sakuya. Once the team was finalized, she joined him in the elevator and they both headed to the top. Once there they met with Soma and Kota who were already with their weapons. As they made their way to the mission area, James outlined the plan. They'd be going with a style focused more on close quarters and Kota would stick to long range.

"Alisa I want you to alternate between close and long range attacks to keep the enemy on their toes", he added and she nodded in agreement.

It did not take long for them to get to the mission area and after that they spotted the monkey. Unlike the other monkeys they met before, this one was covered in gold with a halo and oracle cells that formed a cloth on its back. Besides that, it's face was broken in three places and was spread out making it look uglier, even by aragami standards.

The monkey noticed them and started by banging on its chest to intimidate them. The four hunters were not scathed by this, demonstrated by Alisa and Kota shooting multiple shots at the target while James and Soma went in closer.

The monkey stood on one fist then spun around and knocked its attackers in the air. Alisa watched James quickly recover and fire a few shots while in the air. Soma on the other hand landed on the back of the aragami then started attacking it.

While this was going on, Alisa switched to her blade and joined James who attacked the enemy head on. The aragami attacked with a fist aimed at James but he skilfully jumped to the side to dodge it. Alisa took this chance to strike at the its arm, landing a few scratches but not enough to break through the strong oracle bonds.

"Damn it", she hissed "Any idea what it's weak spots are?"

"The face, always go for the face", chimed in James coming close and thrust his spear multiple times into the aragami's face causing it to fire a ball of electricity at James, shooting him into the walls of one of the abandoned buildings.

As if that wasn't enough the monkey went on one of those 'cannonball' rolls but this time it was surrounded by an aura of electricity. This caused it to barrel through Alisa as well as knock Soma off its back.

Alisa groaned a little getting back to her feet. She turned around and saw the monkey turning towards her. It would have attacked but it's attention went to James who attacked with a swing from behind, cutting its tail off.

"It won't be that easy", shouted James leaping and dodging all of the monkey's attacks. The last fist allowed him to come closer and swing his spear out, landing a hit on the monkey's right knee. It roared in pain and attacked with another spinning fist but this time James leapt up to avoid it.

She watched him come down just as fast as he went up and in the process, his spear tore through the flesh of the aragami while also keeping it in one place.

"Everyone aim for the wounds and weaken it some more", he called out while he drew his gun and started firing at some of the wounds that Alisa or he inflicted. Soma took the first chance, attacking with a swing that broke the bonds on the aragami's face causing it to stand on its legs.

"Everyone jump right now", shouted James and they did while the aragami fell to the ground. They watched the monster fall down, creating a shockwave upon impacting and all silently thanked themselves for listening to James.

"How did you know it would do that?" asked Soma when they landed and resumed the attack.

"Lucky guess", he replied thrusting his spear through the monkey's body and out the other side.

In that moment Alisa saw an opportunity and ran up James' back then attacked with a downward swing that split the aragami's head in half. James took his spear out of the fallen and the four of them watched the aragami struggle a little bit before finally lying on the ground and dying.

"And with that another hunt comes to an end", said James in triumph.

Alisa and the others breathed a sigh of relief. It did not take too long for the helicopter to come back. When it did, they boarded it and headed back home.

"James, you want to have dinner with me tonight?" she asked casually when they were in the lounge. Kota headed out of the base, eager to spend his evening with his family while Soma headed to his room, feeling a little tired for some reason.

"Maybe not tonight", he said looking apologetic "I have some other stuff to take care of so I'll be really busy".

She nodded in agreement but in the back of her mind she wondered what it could be.

In the battle of curiosity and complacency, curiosity will always win out in the end. Human beings are naturally curious creatures which was why when introduced to something unfamiliar, they would strive to understand the problem as their minds would not let them rest until their curiosity was satisfied.

At least that's the lie that Alisa told herself when her clock displayed 12 am. She finished nearly half a kilogram of coffee to keep herself awake. As much as she tried to ignore it, the possibility of James actually sleeping and not staying late to help out Hibari seemed completely alien to her. As far as she's known James projected himself as a work horse from the moment she knew him. As such the idea of him blowing off the chance to work was downright impossible.

Slowly she opened the door of her room just in time to see someone pass by. Unfortunately only the emergency lights were on at this time in the night so it prevented her from making out the persons face but she knew who it was.

Slowly and carefully she followed the person till the two reached the lounge. Her eyes now got used to the dark, allowing her to make out the figure more clearly in the darkness of the room. She saw the elevator come down and the light inside, shone on their face; confirming what Alisa thought so far.

It was James as she suspected but at the same time something about him was definitely off and just before the elevator door closed, she saw why. His eyes were not their usual shade of red they always were, instead there were glowing blue.

'What the hell?' she thought watching the elevator leave.


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Getting answers

James skidded back then ran to the sides avoiding the barrage of energy fire coming from his opponent. Tonight he managed to get the attention of an aragami known as the 'God's eaters bane', more commonly referred to as a Susanoo. It took the form of a regular scorpion but instead of shield bits for arms, they were giant mouths similar to a god arc's consume mode. Also it's tail was much sharper than other types. It's tail swing created large columns of energy at random places which made it a chore to most god eaters.

But with his restraints removed and his god arc taking on a familiar form, the blue eyed hunter swung his scythe around to deflect the last of the barrage then broke into a run. When he was near he swung his scythe to land a deep cut on the front two legs which made the aragami fall forward in pain.

With another swing from his scythe, the tip of the blade embedded itself on the back of the aragami and he vaulted over it just as the beast was recovering. It tried to shake him off but James retaliated by lopping off its tail.

The aragami let out another fierce cry and charged at James with its hands pointed out, ready to chomp him to bits. The hunter made used the creatures size to his advantage by sliding under it and firing on the underside of the aragami.

As he got to his feet, it turned around and leapt up. Seeing as he would not be able to completely dodge the energy wave it would create, James brought his shield up in time to mitigate some of the damage. This momentary pause however gave the aragami a chance it needed. It fired the spikes on its shoulders at James which did the job of sending him crashing into one of the abandoned temples.

The hunter did not take too longer to recover as he marched out of the wreckage to greet his opponent with a smile. The only visible sign of damage was a thin streak of blood from his head that trickled down. Undeterred by this, the aragami gave out another roar as it readied itself to charge its enemy like the knights of old once did.

Seeing what it was trying to do, James started twirling the scythe around him as he marched forward while the aragami ran towards him. James suddenly broke into a run, increasing the speed at which the scythe orbited him. The two drew closer and closer till finally, they clashed and now stood back to back.

For the longest of times, neither of them made a single move. They stayed rooted firmly in their spots. It was James in the end who turned around first, revealing a large cut on his chest. The aragami turned around now about to attack but when it took a step forward, a single line appeared from its mouth all the way to its back. The aragami could go no further as the top of its body fell down while the bottom still stood but was no longer a threat.

Now that the aragami was taken care of, James dug a few healing needles into his side then continued his investigation. He eventually came to a halt in front of the ruins of a particularly large temple. Seeing as he had time and nothing else to do right now, he went inside and examined it. He saw the statue of a person that had to be what humans used to call gods as no one in real life could exist with such long ears and a big stomach.

James shook his head then turned to the hole in the temple through which snow gently fell down. In the midst of that small patch of white, he noticed something which caused him to investigate it a little further.

He bent down to pick up an abnormally large black feather. James furrowed his eyes a little, unable to recall any aragami that possessed wings. He almost immediately eliminated the possibility of any birds as nearly all the animals that were once on the planet were extinct. It was only through advancements in genetic cloning that allowed livestock animals like cows, sheep, goats, chickens etc. to continue. Wild animals in general were almost impossible to find.

Eliminating the possibilities, he concluded that the feather in his hand could be a clue or something of importance. Either way, he put the feather in his jacket, reverted his god arc and his eyes to their regular state and headed back to base.

When he got there, he had enough time for two hours of sleep which would not be enough for most people but he managed. Once the alarm clock woke him up again, he went back to his daily routine, all the while not noticing that one of his teammates was closely following him.

Alisa could not stop thinking about how James looked when she last saw him. In her mind, the teenager projected the image of a strong albeit reckless leader who always prioritized the safety of his team above all else.

This completely contrasted with the blue eyed soldier she saw taking the elevator up. That person looked like a cold and emotionless soldier who had seen and done everything. He gave off a cold, malicious aura that made him seem more like a monster than a human

She continued playing around with her mac and cheese, her mind fixed on last night. Sakuya noticed her worried expression and set her plate opposite her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked but the girl didn't reply. The girl gave her a weak smile then returned to her food.

"Sorry Sakuya," she said "Just had a bad dream".

"Really? What was it about?"

"It's kinda scary… so I don't want to talk about it", she replied.

Sakuya was visibly worried by this and wanted to say something when all of a sudden, Hibari burst through the door. Her face was pale and covered in sweat like she had seen a ghost.

"Big news", she said "All teams need to report to the lounge immediately".

"Couldn't you have told this on the PA system?" asked Sakuya

"NO, this is too important to not tell you in person", said Hibari turning to her.

Once the team gathered, Dr. Sakaki made the announcement. Thanks to the efforts of one god eater in particular, the far east branch was able to find definitive evidence that Lindow Amamiya was in fact alive and not dead.

This news sent waves of shock and surprise throughout those present as it filled them with a sense of hope. Of course what Sakaki and James decided not to tell anyone else was that the DNA that they found in the black feather meant that he had undergone a transformation. Because his armlet was no longer with him, the infection from the oracle cells was certain to spread. That being said, the normal amount of time which is required for a human to fully mutate into an aragami is no less than ten months.

Given that only seven months had passed, there existed the small yet undeniable chance that he was not completely infected so there still existed the possibility to save him.

Once the announcement was finished, Hibari started assigning missions to teams to investigate areas of interest and gather information. Till the remaining three months had passed, every god eater here had two goals; one was to continue hunting aragami like normal. The other was to gather information to ascertain the whereabouts of former Captain Lindow.

This was of course met with only positive feedback from the audience who behaved like a fire was lit in their stomachs. In a world where comrades could die the very next day, the possibility of saving a friend and comrade was one that none of them could pass up.

Once the teams were out on their respective missions, James was ordered by Sakaki to get some rest. The doctor and Tsubaki understood that in order to balance his work with the investigation meant he would undergo a great deal of physical and mental stress. Rather than pushing him any further, they both thought it was best to let him rest as a way of thanking him.

Alisa finished her work early today and there were no missions left so she was busy resting a little in the lounge. A few days had passed since the announcement was made which marked an increased activity from the team but on the flipside there were no sign of James at all.

She noticed Dr. Sakaki emerge from the elevator that led to everyone's rooms.

"Ah, Ms. Amiella", said the doctor with a smile "I was just heading to the cafeteria to get something for James. Could you do help me by bringing the food to his room when it's ready?"

Alisa agreed as this would give her the chance to speak to James about the singular most important thought that was plaguing her mind for a while now. She headed to the cafeteria and brought out a plate of lunch. She got into the elevator then headed to his room.

When she was outside, she managed to catch some of the conversation going on inside.

"Please hand me my contact lenses", said James.

Alisa heard a little silence for a moment till Sakaki gave him what she assumed were a pair of contact lenses.

"You're still unable to suppress it?" he asked sounding concerned.

"That's what happens when you accidentally expose your eyes to dextroneon", he replied with a chuckle.

"James I've been trying to find a cure for your eyes but so far…"

"Relax boss man. I've had this condition since I was a single digit snotty brat. I've gotten used to it".

Alisa felt somewhat guilty right now but she did her best to keep her expression neutral. The girl knocked on the door then heard James tell her to come in.

"I hope you're hungry because I got plenty of food from the cafeteria", she said setting the plate of food on the table.

"Thanks," he said with a calm smile

"There are a few more things I want to speak to James about, in private", said the doctor with a pleasant tone in his voice causing the girl to immediately excuse herself and leave the room.

The two of them quietly watched her leave then remained silent for a few seconds before Sakaki spoke "That was close, troublesome but close. I hope that this will keep you safe for now".

"It should", said James rubbing his head a little "Thank you for agreeing to this little plan of mine".

"What other choice do I have?" he said sounding fake defeated "If the girl started getting more curious, she might do something stupid like look into your past".

He noticed James' expression became hostile as he narrowed his gaze to the doctor then asked "Did you?"

"Of course not", was his reply "If you know that there's a trap two steps head of you, you don't happily run into it".

James' expression became less serious now and he let out a small sigh of relief. Now that he dealt with Alisa's curiosity in a non hostile manner, he could get back to doing his job.


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Kota's plan

The evidence that many of the teams found were similar to what James first found, the black feather. Both Sakaki and Soma started working together to try and find out what kind of animal would need feathers so big. This in turn led them to numerous leads, which James would then search out.

So far however, all their leads came up empty. There were no signs of Lindow in any of the locations which troubled all three of them but they remained undeterred. The mood in the branch right now was hopeful and all three of them wanted it to remain that way.

James now finished a mission with Annie and Fred then sat at the lounge for a moment to catch his breath. He thought now would be a good time to enjoy a little cat nap but when he woke up, he was surprised to see that two hours had passed.

"Good you finally woke up", said Hibari "The doctor asked us all to come to the cafeteria for some reason. He's got something he wants us to try".

Wondering what it was, silently followed the red head. When he got there the good doctor informed everyone of a new drink he made called 'First love juice'. It was a can of juice with a purple covering on top, having the words 'First love juice' written in different fonts. Sakaki passed it around till everyone had one of them.

James also noticed Ren was there. The medic saw James and gave him a wave but no one seemed to notice it. He too found it strange that in the time since he arrived, this was only the second time he had seen Ren.

"Well then bottoms up", said the doctor and everyone started drinking. Almost immediately there were plenty of them groaning or coughing the drink up.

"What did you put in this thing?" whined Shun as he went for a glass of water.

"It's a specially designed compound that tastes like your first love's favourite meal", said the doctor with a smirk

"Is that why my drink tastes like curry and steak?" asked Kanon and James nearly choked on his drink

"So that's what you were trying to do huh old man", said Soma with a sneer to the doctor who casually laughed it off "Listen everyone, you don't have to indulge the old man's habits. Just go back to work and pretend this never happened".

The teams all glared at their boss for a moment before going back to their regular work. The crowd soon faded till only Ren, Alisa and James were left.

"What did yours taste like?" asked Alisa casually to James.

"Um… well", he said trying to think of some meal and not borscht. Luckily he was able to remember one meal his former teammate loved to eat.

"French fries", he replied "Which is weird when you try and drink it".

"Huh", said the girl rubbing her chin "I don't think anyone here likes fries, does that mean there's someone in your past you have a crush on?"

She noticed James start sweating upon the question so she decided to turn the pressure up a little by moving closer to him. The teenager started sweating more as a result of this.

"By the way, what did your drink taste like?" he asked

"Why are you asking?" she asked suddenly taking a step back.

James of course noticed this and moved closer to Alisa, turning the tables on her "So is it someone here? Is it Kota or Tatsumi? Or Brendan? What about Shun or Karel? *gasp…"

"What?"

"Is it someone from outside the branch?"

Rather than let him continue speculating, Alisa turned around on one foot and marched out without saying another word. This perplexed the teen to no end as he watched her leave but made no attempt at stopping her. He needed to deal with his feelings for her as quickly and as silently as possible without anyone else knowing about it.

He turned around and only now did he remember that he was not the only one here.

"Sorry I forgot about you there buddy", he said apologetically as he marched toward Ren "How was it?"

"I really like how it tastes", he said enthusiastically "Though it doesn't exactly have one flavour in my opinion, it tastes like a bunch of different things."

James raised his eyebrow, giving his teammate a knowing glance. The teen was honestly surprised at how mature Ren was despite being much younger than he was.

"But I will say, it tastes a lot better than aragami", he said with a light chuckle and left causing James to return to his bewildered state from before.

James finished his report and headed to the lounge room eager to get more work done. With everything that was going on, no doubt Hibari would have to deal with a lot of new information and he wanted to help her out like he used to.

However when he got out of the elevator, the boy started coughing wildly before falling down on his knees. After that he hit his chest a couple of times, causing his breathing to return to normal. Once he was sure he was fine and normal, James got to his feet then asked "What are you all doing dressed like that?"

As if her usual outfit wasn't showy enough, Alisa now exchanged her normal top with a red coloured halter top bikini. Beside her stood Sakuya wearing a one piece green coloured swim suit with a towel around her waist, Gina sat calmly on the couch wearing a multi coloured bikini and a pair of short jeans.

"Ok seriously what is going on here?" asked James no longer taken back by the spectacle at hand.

"I am so glad you asked buddy", said Kota from behind him "You see our earlier attempts at trying to find Lindow have been met with complete failure. So to that end I believe that it's time for us to try something different".

"And that's… going to the beach?"

Kota chuckled at the question as he patted James on the shoulder and said "My friend, I see you are not a man of culture like I expected".

"I don't think that's true", he muttered

Kota then outlined his plan, giving it the kind of title that was too strange to be remembered. The essence of the plan was simple, Kota and the team of women would go to the mission area and would use the natural charms that the women would be enough to lure Lindow out.

"Dude", said James putting his hands together and staring at Kota "You have any idea how wrong on so many levels that sounds?"

"It's not wrong James", said Kota "After all, the women here are of course naturally good looking. This is just making sure that everyone notices it".

"So buddy", he said putting an arm around James and bringing him close "Which one do you like? Don't worry I can keep a secret."

James did not want to answer, all he did was glare daggers at the teen who got the message then took a few steps back.

"So you guys going through with this?" asked James to the trio.

"What other choice we have?" asked Gina with a casual shrug "If this does indeed help then what have we to lose?"

"You want to come with?" asked Sakuya "Kota's also helping but I wouldn't mind an extra pair of boots on the ground".

"Sorry but I'm on another scouting mission", said James just as Soma stepped out of the elevator behind him.

"What the?" shouted Soma then rubbed his eyes and turned to James "Is there something going on I don't know about?"

"IT's better to not ask questions", said James holding his hand up then turned to Sakuya "Soma and I are going to hunt a Tzecatilopca that's causing some trouble."

"Alright", said Sakuya sounding a little disappointed.

"Hey by the way… where's Kanon and Annette?"

As if to answer that question he heard Kanon from behind saying "Sorry I took so long, this thing is pretty tight around certain places".

James turned around and almost collapsed by the amount of blood that shot out of his nose. He was able to steady himself luckily then turned to the elevator and left without saying another word.

Kota looked at Soma with an amused expression and said "If we can get a response from a priest like James then imagine what would happen with Lindow?"

Soma simply shook his head and thought it best not to answer that question.

"You still can't stop thinking about it can you?" asked Soma with a quiet chuckle to James but the teenager said nothing for now. Luckily though, James quickly put that incident in the back of his mind as they neared the mission area.

The two of them spent a little while wandering the area, no sign of the aragami at all unfortunately.

"You think this one ran away?" asked James.

"Doubtful", replied Soma "There's still a couple of places we haven't yet checked out, let's go there now."

They went to one of the temples and found the evolved tank with its back towards them. Not wasting an opportunity like this, James placed a paralysis trap a little behind it. Then Soma and him stood on opposite sides of the tank before charging forward.

The two attacked with simultaneous swings of their blades and shattered most of the bonds on the front legs. The aragami roared in pain as it turned to Soma and fired a barrage from the missile pods on its back.

The god eater skilfully dodged all of them while James hit it once again on its back. The aragami tried to go back so that it wouldn't be blindsided but it wound up activating the trap. The two exchanged naughty smiles and immediately attacked the bound target with a barrage of slashes and spear thrusts.

The aragami roared out in pain and broke free from the trap and staggered back. The two of them did not want to give it a chance to recover so they attacked. Unfortunately for them, the tank leapt into the air and when it hit the ground, it created a shockwave along with a barrage of missiles which hit both James and Soma, sending them flying off in separate directions.

After scouring the area for more than thirty minutes, Kota and the team had nearly given up on trying to find their target. They were walking past some of the abandoned buildings when something crashed through the ruins before finally stopping.

Kota took a step forward about to say something but was cut off when James marched out of the wreckage, looking incredibly angry.

"God damn, overgrown tank with those stupid giant missiles and incessant armour", he barked when he saw the tank.

"To hell with this," he barked again as he dug out his gun and emptied the entire clip into the tank. He aimed at points like the gears and eyes on the tank in an effort to disable some of its mobility.

Completely ignoring the party beside him James and Soma closed the distance between them and the tank which started to flail in pain,

"It's eyes are out, take out the gears on the rear legs", declared James and Soma went to attack the target while James did the job of being a good distraction. Soma crashed his sword into one of the gears, causing it to make a few noises before a series of small explosions completely destroyed one back leg.

"Now let's end this", said James with a feral look in his eyes. He held his spear up, charging it as much as possible. Just like before, he flung the spear with as much strength as he could, watching it shatter through the front armour of the tank but it was not enough.

Soma saw this and quickly came forward. He swung his blade out, striking his target but instead of aiming for the aragami, he hit the base of James' spear which shot through the aragami's body then emerged out behind it.

Now that the aragami was dead, the two of them sighed in relief, simultaneously falling to the ground to catch their breath.


	44. Chapter 44

p class="MsoNormal"Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"The Black Devil/p  
p class="MsoNormal"After the duo had defeated the aragami, they joined up with Kota and the girls before covering one last part of the temple. When they got there, everyone fanned out so that they could cover more ground much faster./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hey James", called Soma. The whole team quickly came to him and the guy pointed at the large white feather that was on the ground./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Well this is markedly different", said James bending down to pick it up. Upon contact, the teenager was once again thrust into Lindow's shoes. He felt a terrible pain in his right arm as he went inside the abandoned temple./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Is someone there?" he asked looking deeper inside. There was silence for a moment till a pale coloured girl in white hair and yellow coloured eyes slowly emerged and came towards Lindow./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Who the hell are you?" he snarled/p  
p class="MsoNormal"The girl swayed from side to side, her gaze fixing on his right arm./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You look in pain", she said putting a finger to her lip then she slowly came forward/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hey now take a step back ya hear", warned Lindow but his words did not reach the girl. Instead she grabbed his infected hand, causing a warm light to form from the point of contact. The light stayed on for a little while then it slowly faded./p  
p class="MsoNormal"James could feel the pain in his arm no longer there. Lindow looked at his infected arm, possibly surprised by this then he looked at the girl and said "Thanks"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"With that the memory faded and James was back to reality./p  
p class="MsoNormal""What did you see James?" asked Alisa./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Lindow", he replied looking at her with a relieved expression "Lindow's still alive and he's still fighting"./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: center;" align="center"* * * * * * * * * * * * * */p  
p class="MsoNormal"If they were starting to give up at not finding any leads, this news from James reignited the fire inside them. On the way back James commented that though she was no longer with them, Shio was still helping everyone out, to which Soma gave him a small smile./p  
p class="MsoNormal"It went without saying that Kota's plan was nothing short of a spectacular failure but right now no one wanted to remind Kota about it. The teenager was eager to prove himself which was why he thrust himself into as much work as he could the following days./p  
p class="MsoNormal"James on the other hand was forced to spend more and more time at the base and not on the field with the others. Sakaki kept it a secret from everyone as he did not want them to get worried but he felt that James might be endangering himself by constantly coming into contact with so many unstable oracle cells./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I believe that it's started happening right around the time you touched Lindow's god arc", said the doctor "It was quite a rare sight for one god eater to resonate with another god eater as demonstrated when you touched Alisa but this is something else altogether"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Now don't worry James", he said calmly placing a hand on James' shoulder "I want to give you a proper check-up to be completely sure that nothing is wrong with you"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I thought you did that", said James./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yes and luckily nothing is wrong", said Sakaki with a clap "You are your usual self. That said till this mission is over I want you to make a habit of come seeing me at least once during the week for a check-up. You're the central figure in whatever is going on right now so we can't have anything happen to you"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Though he did not like it, James agreed with a single nod./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Now that the whole far east branch were focused on two singular objectives, the branch itself became pretty quiet. The only time that everyone was there was in the night but the groups quickly went back to their rooms, too tired to engage in any conversation./p  
p class="MsoNormal"So it surprised him that when he was sitting in his regular spot, contemplating a various number of subjects, he heard someone coming from behind. He turned around to see Sakuya standing there with two cans of coffee./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I need a drinking buddy and tonight that's you", she declared tossing the can to him which he caught. He opened the can while the woman took her place next to him./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm surprised you're still awake after going on five missions", he said while she took a sip of her can./p  
p class="MsoNormal""It was like this back when I first joined", she said casually "At first we had to go on seven or even ten missions everyday. Most, if not all of our teammates couldn't handle the pressure"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""How did you manage?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Meditation, training, sleeping and of course having a buddy to talk to about things was always helpful", she said smiling at him./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You know its ok to outright say it", he added with his head lowered "You don't have to stand on ceremony with me, going around in circles"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Do you think we can do it?" asked Sakuya hiding her face "And don't pull any punches with me James, I know the score. Lindow and I went on many missions where we had to take down one of our teammates who turned. Even if we do find him, the odds of stopping the infection are slim to nothing."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""As things stand we're nearing the end of the infection period with no proof or leads at all. So I'm asking you and I want your honest opinion on this James. If you tell me we can save him, if there's a chance even a small one that we can do this."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"James now felt Sakuya tightly wrap her hand around his and through it he could feel her trembling. He knew what the next question was but he also knew he could not interrupt her./p  
p class="MsoNormal""But if you lie to me, if you give me false hope that'll end with us killing Lindow then… then…"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'll save him", he said and the girl looked at him in surprise./p  
p class="MsoNormal""What?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Truth is you're right Sakuya", he said looking at her without any sign of light-heartedness and cavalier attitude he normally had "Saving someone who lost their armlet is tantamount to impossible. We're better off fighting sharks after taking a bath in BBQ sauce."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""But here's the thing. I don't care about how impossible it is. I don't care how hard or difficult it will be. If saving Lindow requires a miracle to happen then I will make that miracle happen Sakuya."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"He moved in closer so that she could see the determination in his eyes. "Mark my words, I will save him. Lindow is coming back and I will stake my life on it"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The tears started to fade and where there was sadness, now there was a drive and determination. She sniffed a little then looked back at James with a smile./p  
p class="MsoNormal""I knew I could rely on you"./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: center;" align="center"* * * * * * * * * * * * */p  
p class="MsoNormal"The team of Gina, Kota, James and Annette were dispatched to the tornado area where there were reports of multiple deusphages gathering. Seeing as it would be better to go on the offensive, Sakaki mobilized the team and sent them to the location./p  
p class="MsoNormal"When they got there however, they found that all the aragami that was reported to have gathered were now torn to bits and pieces. There were bodies strewn all over the place begging the question, what did this?/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Their answer came in the form of a familiar face tearing the flesh off a fallen scorpion then chomping down on it. The aragami they saw had the physique of the Hannibal that Kota and James encountered but there were noticeable differences. For starters the primary colour this one had was not silver but black, the gauntlet was on the other arm and it's chest emitted an eerie purple fire./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Normal protocol in such cases was to ignore the aragami and James had no interest in gambling with his teammates lives. He turned back to the team, motioning for them to call the copter and head back to the base. The trio nodded agreeing with his decision and turned back./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Unfortunately when Annette took a step forward, her foot snapped a particularly old and dry twig. The sound of the dead piece of wood snapping under her weight echoed throughout the mission area./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Hesitant and scared, the four of them slowly turned around. The black aragami looked back at them before it extended its hands out, revealing its long and sharp claws then charged forward./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Damn it", said James taking out a few flash grenades "Gina and Kota, stick to long range fire. Annie, get the base on comms and have them send an evac chopper right now then join Gina and Kota in providing long range support"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""James are you going to take that thing on yourself?" asked Kota almost scared of the answer./p  
p class="MsoNormal""If you've got a better plan then I'm all ears", he replied and ran to meet the aragami head on./p  
p class="MsoNormal"It surprised and scared James to some degree that the aragami was able to match his attacks and counter him with little to no trouble. The Hannibal was a relatively new type of aragami which meant it clearly wasn't a 'numbered' type so James wondered how could there be an aragami that had both brain and brawn./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The Hannibal immediately leapt back to avoid the thrust then spun around on one hand to deliver a kick to James that sent him crashing into the nearby buildings. It turned to the other shooters but went back to James who ran out of the wreckage with his spear fully charged. He attacked with multiple swings from his blade but the aragami needed to only take a few steps back and avoid it./p  
p class="MsoNormal"It leapt forward then attacked with a fist aimed at James and he quickly rolled aside. While getting to his feet, the aragami turned its head to him and opened its mouth to fire a barrage of purple coloured fireballs. James had no problem dispatching them with his spear and went on the offense again, this time though he took out his gun and fired at the aragami a couple of times./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The black aragami proved how dangerous it really was when it used its gauntlets to deflect the projectiles. What it did not anticipate by this was that James would use this as a momentary distraction to leap onto the aragami's gauntlet then propel himself forward to land a deep cut on the enemy's face./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The creature staggered back a little, wiping the wound on its face. Despite the continuous onslaught of bullets from the three shooters present, they did little to nothing against the powerful lizard which retaliated to James' attack by whacking him away with its tail./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The teen had the air knocked out of him by this attack but he dug his feet into the ground preventing him from crashing like he did before./p  
p class="MsoNormal""James the helicopters here", shouted Annette. James turned around to see Gina and Kota nearly halfway to the chopper that landed with Annette following closely behind. This turned out to be a costly mistake for James as the aragami fired another fireball at him with enough force to cause some real damage./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Gina was the first to get onto the chopper. She turned around to see what would happen then immediately drew her god arc up and fired at the projectile, destroying it before it could reach the target./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The aragami turned to her and roared. It was about to pursue but James jabbed his spear into the targets tail, causing it to turn back to him. While the thing struggled to shake free, James saw that the chopper was slowly rising to the air with the others all calling out for him./p  
p class="MsoNormal"With his one free hand, he took out the rappel gun in his jacket an fired it at the chopper. The wire just managed to wrap around the foot stand. The force of the chopper rising into the air with James holding on, caused the spear in his other hand to be torn out of the aragami's tail./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The last thing he saw of the target was it writing around in pain, trying to heal the deep wound that he inflicted. For a moment though it looked like the aragami wanted to attack with a projectile but for some reason it decided against that. As they drew further and further away, James could not help but wonder why out of all the aragami he had faced was this one so dangerous?/p 


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

A cold and cruel world

Despite being thrown through building after building, James got to his feet in a matter of seconds and ran through the holes he just created. He flung his spear at the evolved tank, embedding itself into the creature's chest. He leapt up when he was close, twisted his body around while in the air and yanked the spear out of the aragami's chest then turned around and attacked with a downward slash, cleaving the front of the aragami in half.

"Damn James", said Kota in astonishment as he, Sakuya and Alisa headed to their leader. Despite the few streaks of blood coming down his face and the wound on his side, he looked like nothing was wrong at all.

"That should be enough for today", said Sakuya with a huff "Let's head home and call it a day".

"You guys can head back home", said James waving his hand to the trio "I've still got enough in the tank for a couple more missions".

"Uh no you don't", commented Alisa authoritatively "You're suffering from multiple injuries if you haven't noticed".

The teen wiped some of the blood off his face then glanced down at the wound on his side casually saying "huh", like it didn't even register in his mind till Alisa pointed it out.

"That's all you have to say?" asked Sakuya sounding slightly irritated "You should learn to take better care of yourself".

"I take plenty of care of myself thank you very much", huffed the teen "I get to eat delicious home cooked food from…"

He now paused for a moment to actually count something "Five", he suddenly said "Five amazing cooks and I train my body every day so that I'm always in top physical form".

"James say what you want but you're going back home with us".

"Really?" he said with a cocky look "I'd like to see you try".

Hibari's quiet evening of work suddenly came to a halt when she heard the sound of muffled yelling. Worried that something was going on, she followed the voice up the stairs to the source. What she saw perplexed her to no end.

James had his mouth taped shut with a strait jacket on his chest while being wheeled out to his room. As if that wasn't enough, Alisa and Sakuya had this look in their eyes that sent shivers down the red head's spine.

When they wheeled him past her, James turned to her and kept trying to scream something but the tape prevented him from uttering a word. The two girls beside him seemed tired of his antics so Alisa dug out a particularly large needle, stuck it into his neck and released the contents inside, rendering their captain completely inert.

"It's best not to ask", said Kota rubbing his head while walking behind the trio. The team now got into the elevator and headed back to their rooms, while Hibari was left to wonder what just happened.

"Freedom!", was the first thing he shouted when he opened his eyes and found that he was no longer restrained.

But when he got up, he found that he was not in his room.

"Don't make such a big deal about it, I took off the jacket after we tossed you on the bed to get some sleep", said Alisa.

It was now he realized that he was in Alisa's room and had fallen asleep on her bed.

'Well that'll explain why the place smells nice', he thought making a mental note to take care of that damp smell in his room.

"What's going on?" he asked noticing the two plates of food laid out on the table.

"Sakuya and well…. Everyone in the branch have noticed you're pushing yourself far beyond the limit", she replied "Firstly, you've been going out at night on missions right?"

Her answer came in the form of James giving a weak chuckle then looking away.

"You barely eat much these days and when you come to the base its only to rest for a few hours. The rest of the day you're either training or out there fighting".

"So what are you trying to say? You think that I'm going to fizz out at some point?"

"Yes that's exactly it", she said getting up and placing her hand on his cheek "James, everyone here has come to rely and depend on you a whole lot. And if something were to happen to you, if you were to…"

"It's not going to happen", he said in the calmest voice possible and she gave him a confused look.

"I have three things I need to do. Three very important things that will keep me from ever burning out; first is finding Lindow, second is finding Mrs. Castor and third is finding an island to build my dream mansion where I will spend the rest of my life on"

Alisa gritted her teeth angrily at his response. Here she was trying to tell him how close he was getting to making a crucial mistake and he was just playing it off with his usual devil may care attitude. Her hand moved on her own and before she even realized it, she was about to strike him like she did before. Last time it caught him off guard and for a while he didn't do anything stupid.

This time though, James caught her hand; his expression shifted from casual to serious in the blink of an eye.

"I will not fall and I will not break", he said looking right into her eyes "No matter how difficult things will get in the future, no matter how dangerous the aragami become rest assured that I will never burn out".

"How can you be so certain of it", she said trying to wrench her hand free but her teammate displayed an unnaturally strong grip.

James didn't answer that question, instead he let go of her hand and walked towards the door.

"Sorry for being a jerk but I'm not that hungry right now", he said with his back to her and walked right out.

It had been ten days since their last lead and now the general mood in the branch was starting to get desperate. Time was running out and that was further exemplified by the fact that none of the teams had located anymore feathers. They had searched all known aragami hotspots but found nothing at all. At first it did not seem like much but as time went on everyone was starting to believe that the possibility of saving their teammate was nothing more than a pipe dream.

The retaliation team had finished another successful mission but failed in their secondary objective which was why none of them said a word to each other in the helicopter on the way back.

Their leader in particular sat at the edge of the heli and looked out, his mind clearly thinking about what next to do and how to proceed.

"Retaliation team, this is castle, come in retaliation team", cried Hibari's voice all of a sudden

"This is retaliation team to castle, what's wrong?" asked James taking charge immediately.

"The defence team has encountered the black Hannibal", she said "Evac team is taking too long so…"

"James", called the pilot "What do you want us to do?"

"Head back to base," he replied as he now stood on the railing

"James", shouted Sakuya getting up to try and stop him

"James", shouted Kota doing the same

"Damn it James", shouted Alisa about to stop him but they should have learned by now, their leader was one always at the mercy of his whims. Sometimes it would lead to them gaining big wins over enemies and there were times like now… where it would only lead to trouble.

All four of them watched James fall right out of the helicopter without a parachute or any landing gear.

James meanwhile pointed his spear to the ground and started to charge it as much as he could. The ground came closer and closer and he had only one chance to act or else wind up a smear on the ground.

Carefully waiting for the moment when he was only a few metres from hitting the surface, he released the charge in his spear. The force of that weapon caused him to rise up ever so slightly, thus cancelling the speed and velocity he had gained from jumping out of a helicopter.

Now all he did was land firmly with both feet on the ground, then pressed his finger into the communicator and spoke "This is alpha one to castle, I am in the mission area. Tell me were shield team is".

"On your own?" shouted Hibari "Damn it James what the hell are you doing?"

"Not the time", he said breaking into a run "Where are they Hibari?"

"About ten metres from your location due west", she replied "James"

"Heading there right now, eta one minute", he said ignoring how concerned she was.

Tatsumi and Brendan dodge the barrage of air blasts from the monkeys that suddenly arrived on the battlefield.

"Kanon", shouted the captain and the girl raised her god arc up to fire as many bullets as she could. Her attacks arced when they reached a certain height then landed on the monkeys but even that was not enough to keep them from coming closer and closer.

The caveat came from the Hannibal which suddenly charged from the side. Much to the team's surprise though it first grabbed one of the monkey's with it mouth and crushed it before it could mount any form of retaliation. The other monkey turned around about to fire a projectile but the Hannibal formed a lance of fire and rammed it through the aragami's back. The monkey tried to wriggle itself free but the Hannibal only shoved the spear in deeper.

On one side there was only one aragami to deal with. On the other side this was the most ferocious aragami they've ever seen. The defence team cautiously moved back to try and gain some distance. The Hannibal now shifted its gaze from the fallen aragami to the team, then it let out a loud roar and charged forward.

Tatsumi stood ahead of the others steeling himself for the first attack. The aragami drew close about to attack with a swipe but at the last second it was impeded by James who seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the air and attacked it with a swing from his spear.

The aragami was caught off guard by this and paid the price for it with a deep wound that was inflicted on it's neck. James charged at the aragami and attacked with a swing from his spear but the aragami leapt up to dodge it. In the air, the Hannibal channelled fire into its right arm about to attack till it saw James pointing his charged spear at it.

The trio who had been reduced to spectators now, watched shockingly as the aragami twisted its body in the air to avoid the spear that James launched. The Hannibal's tongue came out to lick its teeth as if it knew its prey could no longer fight back.

That proved to be wrong when James took out his pistol and fired a few rounds near its face, causing it to move back a little. The aragami dug it's left hand into the ground then spun around to attack him with a tail swing. James waited till the tail was close enough then leapt up, landed on the tail and jumped forward to land on the aragami's leg. Before it could react, he jumped up again to grab his spear, shift it to gun mode and fire a barrage on to the target.

The bullets landed multiple superficial cuts. The Hannibal watched James land on the ground then immediately attack with a fist. James raised his shield up but the force of the attack forced him down to one knee. The aragami did not relent in its attack as it now continued with a barrage of fists on to James.

The aragami leapt back in time to avoid a shot from the target. It watched patiently as James slowly got to his feet, a streak of blood coming out of his lip but the look in his eyes showed that he was not backing down.

Seeing this, the aragami let out another defiant roar as it charged forward. James readied his shield in anticipation. The moment it attacked he would parry the blow then switch to offence; that would give him the chance to land a fatal blow.

When the aragami's fist made contact with the shield however, a bright light suddenly erupted from the point of impact causing everyone to cover their eyes.

The light faded as quickly as it appeared and when it did, the aragami took a few steps back then turned around and ran. James on the other hand remained in his spot with a distant look in his eyes.

"James", said Tatsumi as he, Brendan and Kanon came to check on him. Tatsumi waved his hand over the teens face a couple of times but he did not react.

The fear that something indeed was wrong was soon gone when James blinked a couple of times and looked at them then let out a long breath.

"Are you okay?" asked Kanon sounding genuinely concerned to which James nodded then gave her a soft smile.

"Well that's good news", said Tatsumi letting out a whoop of relief.

"Thank god you're okay", said Hibari while she hugged Tatsumi the second he got off the elevator, surprising nearly everyone. The girl realized what she was doing seemed out of character and immediately let go of him.

"You guys are okay right?" she asked looking at Kanon and Brendan and the duo nodded

"We'd have been in real trouble if James didn't show up", added Kanon with a smile. It was only now that she realized James was there and she immediately turned to him.

"James, Sakuya and the others said they wanted to speak to you in the cafeteria", she said "After that we both have to talk as well".

'No doubt they're going to chew my ears off', he thought turning his eyes to her but his attention was somewhere else.

"I'll go after I finish my report with Sakaki", he said with a somewhat lowered tone in his voice and headed to the elevator.

When he got to the director's room, the two of them looked at each other and understood the message without saying a word.

With a huff, James threw himself onto the couch and Sakaki sat behind his desk.

"So the analysis is finished?" asked James

"Yes", he said and paused for a moment "How did you find out?"

"Resonance", he replied calmly

"James you know what this means…"

"I know but it still doesn't change my mind"

"Are you stupid?" he shouted and slammed both fists against the table. "Lindow has fully turned now, there's no record in history that touts of an aragami reverting back to a human after their corruption".

"Which is why this will be the first", he countered

"But in order for something like that to happen"

"Would require a miracle", said James getting up from his seat "If that's what I have to do then I'll do it".

Without saying anything else, James left the room and Sakaki lowered his head.

As James made his way back to the lounge, he saw another familiar face whose expression captured the mood he was feeling deep down.

"I know what you're trying to do", said Ren as James waited for the elevator.

"You have this really weird timing you know that"

"James saving Lindow after he's turned is impossible".

"Odd, I don't recall anyone else besides Sakaki knowing about this… how did you find out?"

"That is irrelevant, what matters is that now it is time for you to stop dreaming and come back to the reality of this world. It is a cold and hard truth that you must face James, you cannot save him. Your one and only course of action is to kill him".

"I've done a lot of killing back in the day", he said with a casual shrug "Sorry Ren, it's not that I'm not listening to you. I'm just too stubborn to give a damn right now."

James then got onto the elevator but not before saying "This might be the first time I actually save someone".

As he made his way to the helipad with his god arc equipped James went over the facts in his mind. Lindow had turned, it may have happened well before the ten month time had passed but when he clashed with the Hannibal, the resonance caused him to see through the Hannibal's eyes and he recognized the voice instantly.

When a god eater turned there was nothing that could turn them back. The only option everyone had was to put the aragami down.

But at the moment he steeled his mind and decided that was not going to happen. As he removed the contact lenses on his face and allowing his glowing blue eyes to unleash his full potential, he remembered the promise he made after watching Eric Vogelweid die.

He would not lose anymore friends. He was going to do the impossible and bring about a miracle and if that miracle demanded one life to save another, he had no problem offering his.

AN: whooo we're nearing the end of the second story arc. Get ready for more action


	46. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: sorry it was only now it noticed that the views this things got is an amazing 257. I know in the grand scheme of things this is like a drop in the water compared to the other more seasoned authors here but seeing as this is the first time I've written something here, I appreciate the community's response.

Thank you all who have been reading so far

Reunion

Sakuya, Alisa, Kota and Soma all stepped out of the cafeteria. They noticed that it was late in the night which caused them to wonder why they had not seen James.

"Hibari", said Alisa to the red head who looked like she was about to turn in for the night "Did you pass on the message?"

"Yeah, that was the first thing I told him when he stepped off the elevator", she replied "By the way I didn't see him either after he went to the director's room."

Their thoughts were cast aside when Tsubaki suddenly came into the lounge with a frantic look on her face.

"Damn it I'm too late", she said which was cause for concern.

"Ma'am what's wrong?" asked Kota

"That idiot James, he stole one of our helicopters for god knows what", she barked "He even disabled the tracking system".

"What the hell is he doing?" shouted Sakuya "He's been behaving a little reckless the past few days but this is just…"

"He's gone to face Lindow", said Sakaki coming up the stairs. Everyone that had gathered all shot him a confused look and he took this opportunity to explain everything to them.

When he was done, Soma first hit the arm rest on one of the chairs angrily before cursing James.

"So he knew that it would be too difficult for us to kill him", said Sakuya lowering her head and doing her best to not sound defeated "Which is why he went there on his own".

"And do you honestly believe he can do it?" asked Tsubaki who also tried to remain professional in this moment.

Sakaki seemed pensive for a moment but he turned back to Tsubaki and said "Yes" in a firm voice.

"How can you be so sure about it?" she asked

"Call it instinct", replied the director pushing his glasses back a little

"I kind of understand what you're talking about", said Kota "Whenever I go on missions with him, I always know that we're going to come back home safe and sound."

"Yeah", said Alisa "Annoying as he may be, if James believes that he can do it then so will I".

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm not going to stand around here like a total moron", said Soma getting up from his place.

"Where are you going Soma?" demanded Tsubaki

"Where do you think?" he asked turning the question back at her "I want to see it first-hand, the impossible being made possible".

"What in the hell are you doing here?" asked James to Ren who suddenly poked his head out after James landed the helicopter on Aegis island.

"Just think of me as a spectator in this fight my friend", said Ren.

"Alright with me", he said with a shrug "Just do me a favour and make sure that thing doesn't see you".

Ren nodded and headed somewhere safe while James made his way to the Hannibal. He found it pretty quickly as it leapt off a raised part of the island and gave off a loud roar.

"Hey old man", called out James casually walking towards the aragami "You seem to have come down with something, is it the flu?"

As if in response, the Hannibal shot a fireball at James but he moved a little to avoid the attack.

"Apparently when one of us turn into an aragami, usual protocol dictates that they have to be put down", continued James calmly "Of course that's a real problem for me because I promised Sakuya that I'd bring you back alive".

"So", he said with a huff then twirled the spear around and took on a more ferocious stance "I'll have to disobey orders because there's no way in hell I'm letting you die. I apologize in advance for the beating you're about to receive old man but it comes from a good place".

With nothing else left to say, James and the aragami dove head first. The human got the first attack when he flung a few knives onto the aragami. The knives did land but it did little to no damage at all on the aragami which attacked with a straight fist.

James dashed to the side to avoid the fist then ran up the aragami's arm to land an attack on the face. He leapt up with his spear ready to strike but the aragami's other hand shot out at the last minute, crashing into him and sending him barrelling into the ground.

The human wasted no time in recovering and threw his spear at the target. The aragami held its hand up to block but the spear tore through its flesh with the tip slightly emerged out the other side. James took this moment to leap onto the aragami then yank his spear out of the wound. The aragami tried to bat him away but this time, he shifted to gun mode and fired a bullet at the arm. James quickly went back to spear mode and with a downward slash, he landed a heavy blow on the creature's shoulder.

He fell down and the aragami staggered back in pain a little. It started firing fireballs at James but he ducked and weaved through the barrage, drawing closer and closer. The aragami waited till James was close enough and attacked with a spear thrust. It leapt up and over him in that moment, landing behind James and before he could react, its foot shot back, crashing into James' entire body and rammed him into the ground.

"You know you're not making it easy for me to save you old man", he remarked with a weak chuckle getting to his feet.

The aragami attacked by leaping high into the air then coming down with its right fist aimed at James. The soldier saw this coming a mile away and moved back to avoid getting hit. In that moment he charged his spear then thrust it forward.

His spear crashed into the stone protrusions on the aragami's back shattering it which caused a sudden explosion to send James flying back.

The teen rose to his feet and saw how bad his situation had become, the aragami now displayed three pairs of purple wings as it hovered in the air. To make matters worse, when it landed on the ground, it formed a pair of fire blades on either hand, brandishing them threateningly.

James let out a wry chuckle but did not let up on the attack. The aragami hopped into the air then flew towards James at incredible speeds. The human jumped up narrowly missing the head on collision but the force it created sent him flying into the air. James used this to his advantage by switching to gun mode and firing at the aragami but it retaliated with another volley of fireballs.

He landed on the ground and it took to the skies, summoning the lance of fire. The aragami flung it at the target and James quickly moved to avoid the attack. However the impact caused the lance to ignite, creating an explosion three times stronger than the regular attack.

The Hannibal now landed on the ground silently watching the destruction it had caused. It's attention was drawn to a piece of rubble that started to shake. The aragami was not surprised when it saw James emerge from out of the rubble, discarding his immolated red vest.

The two of them charged forward, meeting in the middle and attacking each other like a pair of ferocious beasts. No matter how many times James attacked with a spear thrust or swing, the aragami was able to block or deflect them all and vice versa.

The fighters jumped back then switched to projectiles and fired. The bullet hit the fireball, causing it to explode. James wasted no time and charged through the explosion he created then charged his spear when he was close to the aragami. It tried to move back but the human quickly released the charge causing him and his spear to shoot up, landing a deep cut on the aragami's chest. In the air James attacked with a barrage of thrusts, all of which hit their target.

He twirled the spear around his head and dove forward but the aragami caught him before he could reach the target. James could not react in time to this and was rammed into the ground by the aragami's right hand. If that wasn't enough, it not continued to pound the ground with a barrage of fists as it wanted to end this fight once and for all.

The Hannibal leapt into the air and summoned its lance then brought it down upon the target, engulfing them both in a lethal explosion.

The explosion caused from the attack created a tower of smoke to rise high enough that the rest of the retaliation team picked up on the moment they touched ground. Fearing the worst all four of them rushed into the depths of the island.

When they got there, they saw the Aragami standing in a sea of fire and rubble, there were wounds across its body but there was no sign of the attacker.

"Lindow", shouted Sakuya and the Hannibal turned to her, showing its razor sharp teeth.

It took two steps forward then broke into a run. The team readied themselves to attack but before it came any further, they saw James run up on its back, leap off and turn around then attack with another downward slash that forced it to move back and clutching the newly created wound.

"The hell are you doing here?" he barked (his eyes are red now) at them and turned around to get hit into the air by a swipe from the Hannibal's fire knives. He bit the pain away and recovered in the air then fired another storm of bullets onto the aragami's back. As he came down about to land, the aragami suddenly spun around and rammed the back of its foot into James, knocking the wind out of him and knocking him into one of the pillars.

The others rushed towards him but James stood back up and held his hand up towards them.

"Stay the hell out of this", he said his eyes full of defiant determination despite the injuries his body had sustained.

"Damn it James you're going to die if you keep this up", shouted Alisa

James ignored her cries and attacked the aragami with multiple spear jabs, each one landing cuts all across the body. The aragami retaliated with a fist and James brought his shield up to block. The ensuing clash caused another resonance to occur, bathing the whole island in a bright laded.

The light quickly faded and now everyone noticed in the centre of the aragami's chest was Lindow.

"Lindow", cried Alisa and Sakuya causing the aragami to stop. The veteran god eater slowly opened his eyes and saw them

"What are you all doing here?" he asked in between gasps and grunts of frustration "You have to… you have to run away… get away from here quickly… run guys... get out of here".

"Hey old man", shouted James "Come on you're stronger than this, fight the damn thing you can do it".

"I can't rook… this is the end for me", he said lowering his head "The only way… the only way to save them… is to…"

"You have to do it James", said Ren all of a sudden standing beside him "We've tried things your way and it hasn't worked".

"Now is not the time to preach to me damn it", barked James

"Now is exactly the time", said Ren displaying Lindow's god arc "This is your only chance to avert tragedy, you must take this god arc and kill Lindow before he can harm others. One life to save a hundred, it is a clear choice".

"Lindow buddy come on man", cried Kota

"You can beat this, come back to us Lindow", added Alisa.

"I'm sorry guys", said Lindow "But I can't…. hold on any longer… you all… you all need to escape".

"This is the end for me", he said with a defeated voice.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT", shouted James causing everyone to turn to him. They were further shocked when they saw him firmly grasping the buzz saw blade that served as Lindow's god arc for many years.

They could see the infection spreading across his arm but James remained firmly resolute. He stared straight at Lindow and pointed both his weapons at the target.

"Don't you, don't you dare run away from living", he shouted and leapt forward. The aragami tried to open its mouth but James rammed both blades into its mouth. With a heave, James raised the sword up, tearing the aragami's mouth in half and his attention fell to the singular inorganic object inside.

Realizing what it was, James let go of his god arc and touched the aragami core.


	47. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

The Deeper we go

"Oh god damn it what just happened?" shouted James to no one in particular.

The last thing he remembered was touching the aragami core of the Hannibal and all of a sudden he was back in the far east branch.

Though it did look like the branch, the back of his hair was standing up and he could not shake off this unsettling aura that seemed to be coming from all around.

"It seems that we are now inside Lindow's consciousness", said Ren appearing besides James and startling him.

"Don't do that", he barked but the boy did not react. Instead he pointed forward. James saw a red rust slowly starting to spread out from the elevator that led to the lower levels.

"What the hell?"

"That is the corruption taking over the last vestiges of his psyche", he said "If we can harbour any hope of saving him then we must dig further down if we are to find his true self."

To that end Ren gestured towards the table where Hibari normally stood. James tapped the bell and immediately he was surrounded by a bright light.

"I remember this place," said Ren with god arc in hand taking the lead and James followed behind "This is the very first mission Lindow and I went on. I remember it like it was yesterday".

"Wait, if this is his first mission then…" said James but his words were cut off when he heard a roar coming from ahead.

"A Susanoo?" he shouted "Are you kidding me a Susanoo? He fought a Susanoo on his first day here?"

"Yes", responded Ren and started firing "And if we wish to save him we must go past this memory and further into his subconscious."

All of a sudden the two of them stopped.

The human and fighter that had torn aegis island up in their battle to death were now deathly silent. The others could only watch and wonder what was going on.

James was still holding Lindow's god arc while his other hand was touching the aragami core. The body of Lindow that appeared on the hannibal's chest had vanished and the aragami itself remained motionless.

"What do we do?" asked Kota struggling to figure out what was going on.

"We wait", said Sakuya "And we get ready for whatever happens next".

"Lindow", shouted James in relief and came over to hug the veteran but his hands passed through him, causing James to fall flat onto the ground.

"This is only a projection of him James", corrected Ren "We have not yet reached".

"You know that could have helped me out earlier", he said rubbing his nose.

"You're bleeding", cried the medic and immediately came over to wipe the blood on his face.

"This is nothing", he chided "We have bigger fish to fry."

With that Ren touched the projection and extended his hand out to James who appropriately responded.

The two found themselves in the open plain with the eternally spinning tornado prominently in the centre.

James was about to raise his hand up when he heard a deep sounding rumble. At this point, James was silently praying to himself, hoping that he was wrong but once it rounded the corner the teenager's jaw fell to the floor.

"An Ourobors?" he shouted in dis-belief to Ren "You're kidding me right? You have to be kidding me. Normal teams of four would have a tough time taking the thing on and we're only half a team".

"You know that we have no other choice right?" countered Ren.

James' sat on his haunch letting out a deep breath. His left arm reached out to grab his god arc and he got back to his feet. The look of doubt and shock no longer present in his eyes, only determination and resolution remained.

"Well let's get to it", he said switching to gun mode and the two of them fired at their opponent, which of course did nothing to stop it. Ren continued to fire and James drew in closer while also ducking through the barrage of lasers that shot out of its head.

When he came closer, he avoided the swing from its right arm and spotted its legs. James got closer and started attacking the feet as much as possible. The aragami continued its path to Ren but suddenly stopped when James impaled its foot with his spear. It's foot rose up and it tried to shake him off but James did not let go.

It was only when it rammed its foot into one of the buildings did James finally let go. The teen slid down the building with his god arc in hand and he fired bullet after bullet into the giant aragami's face.

Its left arms shot out to ram James but he leapt off the building and ran towards its face using its extended arm as footing. By the time it retracted the arm, James had already leapt up and attacked with a downward strike, cutting its face in half.

The aragami staggered back in pain but it was not finished by a long shot. Both arms now dug itself into the ground, causing James to dash wildly around the area in an effort to avoid any of the spikes. Luckily he did and the aragami withdrew its arms. Of course it only did this so that it could charge forward, barrelling towards James.

The teen ran away but the aragami's right arm shot out, its tentacles wrapped around James. It raised him high into the air the swung him down with the force of a falling car. James hit the ground hard but his enemy was not quite done. It's grip still wrapped tight it continued to pound James into the buildings around it and into the ground.

After slamming him down for the tenth time, it let go. The aragami did not bother to attack Ren despite the latter firing shot after shot into it.

"Is that… the best… you got?" asked James slowly getting to his feet, his face covered in bruises and blood, his legs wobbling and struggling to keep him up.

The aragami responded to the threat with a concentrated shot of laser fire but James held his shield up and deflected the attack. He darted towards the aragami but this time his opponent was ready. The Ouroboros rose up with all four arms extended out. James could not react in time and was knocked high into the air by the swing of its tentacles.

What the aragami did not count on was how stubborn its opponent would be. In the air, the boy recovered in time to grab one of the tentacles which came together with other tentacles to form its arm. For a moment the aragami paused, trying to find out what happened to its opponent and that was the chance he needed.

James ran up the aragami with a defiant yell. He ran towards its head then jumped off and in the air he flung his charged spear with every ounce of strength he head. The spear shot forward like a bullet, shattering the back of the aragami's head and emerged from the base of its face.

The creature flailed about for a little but it soon fell to the ground, no longer a threat.

The light started to envelop James and once again he found himself in the far east branch. The only problem was that more than half the lounge was no longer there. The only thing that remained was the path to the elevator. James forced his already tired and bloody body back to a vertical base and he proceeded to the elevator.

Ren looked worried, continuing to take quick glances at James' broken condition but chose not to say anything. The reason for it was that despite his terrible injuries, the defiant look in his eyes said that he would keep fighting no matter what.

They reached Lindow's room and this time they saw the man in question, his right arm badly mutated. The pair rushed towards him and this time James touched the projection.

"Now this is a familiar place", said James as he and Ren were transported to the cathedral, the last place he had seen his friend before abandoning him. The teenager noticed Lindow with his back against the wall and his head lowered.

"This is the final mission", said Ren to James "His mind is almost completely corroded with only this tiny fragment holding on for dear life. This will likely be the last favour I ask of you… give Lindow the power to fight once again".

Ren held his hand out, his body began to fade till all that remained was the buzz saw sword. It was now that James remembered Licca's words from way back on how the god arcs have their own souls.

"So you came all this way to try and save him huh", he muttered silently as he held the god arc firmly "Damn, you're one hell of a partner".

"Hey old man", he called out and Lindow's head slowly rose

"What the?" he asked with a weakened voice "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I came to drag you back into the world once again".

"Here's a present from a mutual friend", added James as he tossed the god arc to Lindow who grabbed it then slowly got to his feet.

"You…. came a long way to save me", he said

"Hey now, don't give me that look", he corrected "This is where we turn this tragedy into a happy ending".

Lindow chuckled a little at the response. He also took a moment to survey James and felt somewhat guilty at seeing his badly beaten form. Despite all of that though, James showed no signs of giving up or backing down.

"Yeah you're right", he said smiling which made James smile even more "You've come a long way since I last saw you rook… no you're not a rookie anymore are you?"

"Nope"

"Well I guess that settles it then", said Lindow with a huff "Now that I've decided to survive, its time to make one last ugly stand."

He turned to James and asked "Hey leader, you've got my back yeah?"

"Hell yeah", he replied.

The two of them noticed the black Hannibal standing hovering over them, its wings out and its arms wielding the knives from before.

"Ah wait", said James suddenly pausing "Before we get started…"

James finished his sentence by placing his hand on Lindow's god arc causing it to emit a bright glow. When it faded, Lindow was surprised to see another teenager standing beside James.

"What is going on?" asked Ren looking visibly confused.

"What?" replied James in a shrug "This is the main event and we need all hands on deck here".

"So you ready to make a miracle happen?" he asked placing his hand on the youth's shoulders. Ren simply nodded and the two turned to Lindow

"Intro time, Lindow, Ren, Ren, Lindow. Okay? Okay now let's kick some aragami ass".

"Hey old man", shouted James "Come on you're stronger than this, fight the damn thing you can do it".

"I can't rook… this is the end for me", he said lowering his head "The only way… the only way to save them… is to…"

"You have to do it James", said Ren all of a sudden standing beside him "We've tried things your way and it hasn't worked".

"Now is not the time to preach to me damn it", barked James

"Now is exactly the time", said Ren displaying Lindow's god arc "This is your only chance to avert tragedy, you must take this god arc and kill Lindow before he can harm others. One life to save a hundred, it is a clear choice".

"Lindow buddy come on man", cried Kota

"You can beat this, come back to us Lindow", added Alisa.

"I'm sorry guys", said Lindow "But I can't…. hold on any longer… you all… you all need to escape".

"This is the end for me", he said with a defeated voice.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT", shouted James causing everyone to turn to him. They were further shocked when they saw him firmly grasping the buzz saw blade that served as Lindow's god arc for many years.

They could see the infection spreading across his arm but James remained firmly resolute. He stared straight at Lindow and pointed both his weapons at the target.

"Don't you, don't you dare run away from living", he shouted and leapt forward. The aragami tried to open its mouth but James rammed both blades into its mouth. With a heave, James raised the sword up, tearing the aragami's mouth in half and his attention fell to the singular inorganic object inside.

Realizing what it was, James let go of his god arc and touched the aragami core.


	48. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: god I'm saying miracle too many times

To make a miracle

Ren stood behind and attacked with a barrage of bullets. James and Lindow darted from side to side, dodging and confusing their attacker which fired in as many directions as possible but could not get a bead on them.

James attacked first by leaping forward and turning in the air to attack with a swing of his spear. The aragami flipped back to dodge it then stepped to the side and avoided the slash from Lindow. It turned around and attacked James with slash after slash but he continued to deflect all the attacks.

"What the hell man?" shouted Lindow swinging his god arc and landing a small cut on the back of its leg "Why does it hate you that much?"

"I really pissed it off back in the real world", he replied as he rammed his spear through the aragami's foot causing it to fall on one knee. James took his weapon out then jumped onto its knee then struck its chest a couple of times.

The aragami bent back in pain causing James to lose his footing. He lost his balance and found himself falling to the ground. The aragami however had another idea in mind as its foot shot out, crashing into James' chest and sent him into the roof the cathedral.

"James", shouted Lindow but quickly brought his shield up to block its tail swing.

The teen in question fell to the ground with a thud. Ren stopped firing and ran to check up on him. At this point he wasn't surprised to see James standing back up despite his newly acquired injuries.

"How are you still standing?" asked Ren finally voicing his concerns.

"Because we're close to the end", he said wiping the blood off his face "No way in hell am I bowing out now".

Charging his spear he ran forward like a man possessed and jabbed his spear into the Hannibal's right thing. It roared in pain and tried to swat him away but James shifted to his shield and blocked it. If that wasn't enough he immediately drew out his gun, firing a couple of shots and one of them hit the aragami in the eye.

The aragami staggered back further as it flailed its arms about to try and keep them away but the trio refused to let up.

Ren concentrated its fire on the aragami's face, James attacked from all sides to make it impossible to concentrate and Lindow attacked it head on. The aragami found its back against the wall just as the two of them were about to attack at the same time.

The hunters saw the aragami gather energy to its chest then unleashed it, enveloping its body in flames and knocked both of them back. When they recovered, they saw it floating in the air but it was not the time to be lax.

All of a sudden, columns of fire started erupting all over the already cramped cathedral. James noticed a bright light moving across the ground with incredible speed and realized what was going to happen. He turned towards Lindow and pushed him aside so that when the light created the column of fire, he would be the only victim.

"James", shouted Lindow and Ren just as the Hannibal came to the ground. The column of fire vanished and James took off his burning jacket, letting the others see the full extent of his injuries. Part of his face was burnt, his hands were covered in blood and wounds and a good portion of his shirt was darker, indicating the injuries that he sustained.

The Hannibal formed its lance of fire and attacked James head on. James charged his spear and did the same as well. The two forces met in the centre, producing a powerful backlash wave of energy. Neither of them wanted to take a step back, both continued pushing forward.

Finally the attack was too much and they were both pushed back an equal distance. Of course that did not stop the two from attacking each other like a pair of animals. Lindow watched on in awe as the aragami tried to push James back with a barrage of attacks but the defiant human did not give any ground to the adversary.

The aragami bent down and spun out with its fire blades and James leapt up to dodge. It quickly summoned another fire lance and threw it at him. James turned his body in the air, ran along the length of the weapon the leapt off to attack with a charged downward slash, landing a wound from the top of the aragami's head all the way to its lower body.

James' opponent was enraged and came forward with a fist aimed at James. The attack would have landed had it not been for Lindow and Ren who quickly formed their shields and block the attack.

"At this rate", said Ren starting to pant heavily.

"Yeah I noticed", said Lindow as well. James turned to the back where they were both looking and saw the rust starting to spread around the cathedral.

"Fine then," said James cracking the knuckles in his head "Head to flanking positions and do not move till I give you the signal".

"What's the signal?" asked Lindow as James went towards the aragami.

"You'll know it when you see it", was his reply then he broke into a run. The aragami jumped back then placed its foot on the ground to attack with a tail swing which James dodged by sliding underneath it. He got back up and swung his spear out, landing two cuts on both the aragami's feet. It roared in pain but he was not done. James charged his spear then pointed it to the ground and propelled himself into the air.

The aragami quickly reacted to this and grabbed James before he could attack then ran forward and rammed him into the wall. The teen spat out some blood but his expression did not change at all.

"This mode better work", he said as his god arc shifted from weapon to gun and finally predator mode. The sharp fangs of the aragami inside his god arc came forward and tore into the flesh of the Hannibal. This in turn sent a surge of power coursing through James' body causing the Hannibal to let go of him

"This one's for all the marbles team", he said his body surrounded in burst energy. He pointed the index fingers on both his hands to Ren and Lindow. Like a gun, he bent his thumb down, transferring this sudden surge of power to his two friends who immediately understood.

Ren channelled all of his focus and concentration into his god arc allowing him to fire a giant beam of energy that tore a hole in the aragami's chest. Lindow swung his blade out and this created a deep slash on the critically wounded aragami.

James saw it lowering its body and took this chance, he ran up the aragami, jumped off of it and in the air he pointed his spear down and started to spin. This caused him to achieve speeds akin to a high speed drilling machine as his weapon tore through the head of the Hannibal and he hit the ground.

The teenager rose to his feet, resting the god arc on his back as the headless aragami now fell to the ground.

"Oh man", he said falling onto his backside "That was a real roller coaster".

"Tell me about it", added Lindow with a weak chuckle.

"Its not over yet guys", said Ren cautiously. The pair looked at the aragami's body which now turned into a black ink that spread out and took over a portion of the cathedral. From it emerged the Hannibal three times larger than before and it immediately attacked James and Lindow. The two of them held their shields up to block but now they were in a deadlock. If either of them budged, it would attack them and if it budged they would attack it.

"No other choice", said Ren as his god arc and his body started to glow a bright gold.

Before either of them could react, Ren shot out another powerful blast of energy from his god arc which hit the aragami right in the chest. All of a sudden the entire room was bathed in a white light and it was only the three of them that were left.

"Does this mean?" asked James

"Yes, the aragami infection is gone now and he is safe", replied Ren with a calm smile. He turned to Lindow and said "It has truly been an honour to fight alongside you for so many years partner."

"Thanks for taking care of me all this time buddy", said Lindow "It's not often I get to meet the soul of my god arc. Thanks a lot for saving my ass".

"It wasn't just me", said Ren and gestured to James "If not for his defiance in the face of the truth, we never could have achieved such a miracle".

James tried to smile a little but his wounds prevented him from showing any signs of false bravado.

"And you James", said Ren turning to the teen "You have my deepest and eternal thanks for reuniting me with my friend. I may not have spent much time with you but every second was indeed memorable."

"I particularly enjoyed all those cans of first love juice you obtained for me whenever I asked", he added with a light laugh.

James returned the laugh with a warm smile then said "You were fun to be around, ignoring the few times you scared the crap out of me".

Ren nodded and they all saw his feet starting to fade.

"I guess this is goodbye my friends", he said his eyes looking a little misty.

"Hey now this isn't goodbye", objected James and thrust his fist out "We're going to meet again one day and that's a promise".

"I agree with James", said Lindow extending his fist out and meeting James in the middle as well "We're going to meet up in the future".

Ren looked at the two of them and before the tears could fall, he thrust his fist out and said "Yes, I look forward to it".

It did not seem possible, none of it seemed possible at all. One minute they were watching James go one on one with an aragami and now all of a sudden there was no aragami. Instead James and another body lay flat on the ground barely moving at all.

The team cautiously took a step forward, wondering if the two of them were alive or conscious. Then Alisa and Kota let out a sudden yelp as James and Lindow shot up like they had awoken from a bad dream.

"Owww", moaned James to Lindow "My head hurts, my arms feel so tired and my legs are all jelly. I'm hungry and tired as hell man".

"Ren told me about the fights you went through", said Lindow "Can't believe how tenacious you are".

"That was nothing," he said completely oblivious that this exchange took place in the midst of his teammates "I once fought a whole army of aragami on my own and still survived?"

"Seriously?"

"Yep, I'll tell you the whole thing". James tried to get up but his injuries caused him to fall onto his backside once again.

"Hey, you know what I realized", said James

"What?"

"If we were in your conscious, then why didn't we have the home field advantage?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it dude, it was your mind. You could have come up with all kinds of weapons we could use. Like laser guns or giants space ships or robots that transform into mega weapons of destruction or hell some battle armour, I mean if you think about it we really did not make use of our field".

"Ah well", said Lindow with a chuckle "Next time that happens to me I'll make sure to give us an added bonus".

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no", said James showing all kids of disapproving signs "Thank you very much but I've had enough rides on the Lindow Limbo to last me a whole life time".

The two of them paused for a moment before laughing like a pair of old friends. It was now they both noticed the rest of the team, prompting James to say "Hey guys look who I found".

Sakuya let go of her god arc and rushed forward to Lindow, embracing him as tight as she could.

Soma and Kota stood before James and slowly helped him back to his feet.

As he did, he felt himself being embraced from behind. He turned around to see Sakuya sobbing into his shoulder, silently saying "Thank you".

James hugged her as well then let her go and smiled at her "I told you I'd bring him back", he added and the woman gave him a tearful smile of appreciation.

"Come on hero", said Alisa putting his arm around her and slowly helping him back to the helicopter "Its time you get a well earned rest".

"Yeah looking forward to it", he said with a nod.

AN: we're going to take a break from the third and final story arc with another side story that I believe did not get the attention it deserved in the game.


	49. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Three simple words

"Hoo boy it feels like an eternity since I was last here", said James triumphantly marching into the lounge of the far east branch, despite the injuries all over his body "Man I should get something to drink".

In response to this, a fist crashed into James' head three times and sent him right into the ground

"Why?" he said with his face still pressed against the carpet

"Why?" repeated Tsubaki with an irritated look "You steal private property to launch a reckless mission, you endanger your life and the lives of your teammates and you ask why?"

"Hey now sis, that's no way to treat the guy given everything he's been through", said a familiar voice which made Tsubaki's face turn pale in shock.

She turned around and saw Lindow stepping into the lounge and gave her a weak smile

"I'm back home sis", he said and Tsubaki could no longer hide her emotions. She immediately embraced her brother as tight as she possibly could. The relief that came from knowing that the impossible occurred today, that her once lost brother had come back home manifested itself in the tears that poured out from her.

"OH COME ON", shouted James catching everyone off guard.

"Lindow gets a big fat hug from not one but two total babes and I get three shots to the head?"

"There's no justice in this world", he said turning back to the carpet and started fake sobbing.

"Did you just call your boss a babe?" asked Tsubaki as her eye twitched and her fist threatened to hit him again.

"Well think of it like this James", said Alisa trying to change the subject for the sake of the teenager's life "If you lose your armlet, turn into an aragami and turn back into a human then I'm sure you'll get a warm response as well".

The five of them would have to knock James out after he proceeded to take things too literally and try to yank his armlet off.

After that, Lindow and James were taken to the hospital wing where they were greeted by Dr. Sakaki. The doctor spent a few hours checking up on them and determining that nothing at all was wrong with them.

But with everything that the pair had gone through, he insisted that they remain in the hospital room for the next few weeks. During that time they announcement had been made that Lindow was back which was met with cheer and excitement by the entire branch.

Thanks to that, everyone had come to visit and speak to him over the next few weeks. The man of the week himself was pretty mum about the details as the only person who knew exactly what had happened and how it happened was sound asleep.

Yes, surprisingly to all who had known him, James had been asleep for nearly two whole weeks. The energizer bunny that had been known to sleep for only two hours a day now lay motionless and still barely moving at all.

"Should we be worried about this doctor?" asked Alisa gently moving aside some strands of hair on his face.

"Nothing to be concerned about at all", replied the doctor with his usual lightheartedness. "This is most likely due to all that stress he had accumulated over the past few months".

"What are you talking about doctor?" asked Lindow turning to him "From what I've heard, James enjoyed having to physically push himself that much".

"True but you're not considering the psychological strain he placed on himself", said the doctor "In the weeks leading up to your disappearance, you spent a lot of time training with James which gave the impression to him and others that you might be grooming him for later in the future. When the time came earlier than expected, he forced himself to step into your shoes and hold himself up to an impossibly high standard that you set".

"I imagine there were plenty of times where it was too much for him but he chose not to say a word about it".

"That doesn't sound like Lindow", stated Sakuya turning to him "Whenever he gets stressed about things, he always talks about it with me or with Tsubaki".

"Something I doubt our sleeping soldier ever noticed", added the doctor "I know you're all concerned about him but I assure you, he is fine both physically and mentally".

As if to drive that point a little further, James himself slowly moved to his left side and groaned a little.

"Well he'd better wake up soon," she added and left the room.

The doctor gave a silent nod to Lindow and Sakuya then made his way out of the room as well.

A silence filled the room for the longest of times till finally Sakuya was the first to speak.

"Apparently your status at Fenrir was always MIA so officially you never did leave the company. Now that you're back what do you plan on doing?"

Lindow pondered the question carefully in his mind for a while before answering "I think I'll become a teacher".

To this Sakuya gave him a puzzled look

"Yeah, when I was speaking to everyone, I heard how things had shifted during my absence and I don't want to mess things up either. So I'll stick to training new cadets and prepare them. That way I won't get in anyone's way and that also means…"

He reached out, gently intertwining his fingers with Sakuya then looked at her and said "We could spend more time together".

"You're being serious?" she asked expectantly "You really want to give us a chance?"

"This is my second chance at life Sakuya, no way am I going to hesitate anymore now", he replied.

The two of them drew closer and closer till finally their lips touched. It was a brief interaction but it held a lot of meaning to the two involved. They slowly moved back a little, staring into each others eyes and both felt the same thing.

They wanted more.

However their attention turned to the right when they heard a sudden thud. They were surprised to find that James was no longer in his bed and had rolled off it, resulting in the heavy thud they just heard.

The teenager groaned a little while on the floor then raised himself up and looked at them.

"Hey Lindow, did you get taller or did I get shorter?" he asked still groggy.

As much as they wanted to answer the question, the boys attention turned back to his bed. He yanked the pillow off, placed it on the ground and went back to sleep like it was the most natural thing to do.

"Has he always been like this?" asked one veteran

"You have no idea".

After another three days of sleeping on the bed (something that baffled everyone) James finally woke up and did not take much time in cleaning himself and getting dressed.

In the span of fifteen minutes, he was back to wearing on his usual red and black Fenrir jacket with his black and white pants. He spent a moment in the mirror to push his hair back to that it did not interfere with his daily activities then turned to his companion.

"Still feeling too lazy to get up?" he teased

"I'm just enjoying my vacation time", he replied casually "It'll take a while for me to return to active duty with all the paperwork involved".

"You're making Tsubaki do everything for you again?" asked James with an incredulous expression.

"What's a guy supposed to do? She volunteered and I didn't want to say no".

"It must be lucky being you", he muttered to himself as Sakuya entered the room. She looked honestly surprised to see James back in his regular clothing.

"Are you sure you're medically cleared to get back to active duty?" she asked staring suspiciously at him.

"Medically cleared or not", said James jabbing the air to check his form "I spent too damn long being a vegetable. Got stuff to do, aragami to hunt and plenty more trouble to cause"

"Ah wait", said Lindow before the youth rushed off to make good on his word "Could you hold on for just a moment? There something I want you to be part of".

He shifted a questioning look to the man in the bed. Sakuya and James were momentarily concerned when they saw Lindow slowly get off the bed. As if that wasn't enough of a surprise, he slowly got down on one knee then produced a small black box and extended it to Sakuya.

The two on their feet both got wide eyed; one more so than the other.

"No more questioning thing, no more doubts; I've been holding onto this for years now, waiting for the right moment to ask the question but that moment never came".

He turned to James and smiled as he said "I learned from you that you make the moments happen."

"So Sakuya Tachibana, will you marry me?"

Her answer was of course yes and she tearfully hugged her fiancée. The two of them stood up while James took the opportunity to spread the good news the only way he knew how; by running around and telling everyone he saw while throwing flower petals around.

AN: yep, personally I felt that the wedding thing was sooooo totally glossed over which sucked from a story standpoint.

The next few chapters are going to cover the events leading up to the wedding as well as the lead up to another event? What that is? Sorry but I can't tell just yet.


	50. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

A man of many talents

After the news had spread around and he spend the remainder of his day cleaning up all those flower petals, he joined the rest of the branch in welcoming the newly engaged couple. Everyone took their turns to congratulate the pair.

"Congratulations you two", said Alisa hugging the pair at once "I'm so happy".

"Wow, Lindow's back", said Kota sniffing a little "And now they're getting married… I'm so happy". As if to illustrate that point, Kota started bawling his eyes out.

"So when's the big day?" asked Kanon with a determined look on her face "Have you decided on the place and who you're going to be inviting?"

"Uh… well about that", said Sakuya looking away "James".

And on queue, the teen stepped out of the elevator with a broom in his hand. "My ears are burning, someone talking about me?"

"James, can you organize our wedding?"

"Sure", he replied calmly

"Are you sure it's okay to ask James?" asked Soma "I mean no offence James but you don't strike me as the type that plans out such an important event."

"Yeah sorry about that, but I can be pretty serious when I need to be".

"True which is why we're asking you", added Lindow.

"You want me to design and stitch the dresses for Sakuya and her bridesmaids?"

"You can stitch?" asked Kota sounding visibly surprised

"Of course I can, you'd be surprised at how important stitching when you're in a tough spot with a big wound and no medicine in sight".

"Well then it's settled", said Sakaki "James here will take care of the whole wedding. I take it you'll also need some time off to fully focus on the job?"

"NO", countered James almost instantly "I'll find a balance, trust me. I plan on doing my work as well as planning for the wedding. Relax I can do it".

True to his word, James did find a thin balance between planning and working. By day he would go out with all the teams as well as a few missions with Lindow while at night he'd be sitting in the lounge going through various articles, videos and pictures about the wedding and the fine tuned mechanics behind it.

All that he asked from the couple was to decide on who's coming. He also told them that number is not a problem and that he would prepare for a small gathering or a large audience.

One night after Hibari said her goodbye and left to her room, James waited till the light in the lounge was the only one on.

"Computer activate mimir protocol, ID number 3469987", he said to the tablet in his hand and everything he was looking at vanished. All that remained was a white blinking line in the centre.

"Hello Mimir, did you miss me?" he asked and a single yes was his answer.

"Ah that's right you were never one for conversation were you?" he mused to the A.I but it did not respond to his jab.

"Well then let's get down to business", he said "I need a location of the following item."

He proceeded to type something onto the touch screen and the computer displayed a list of all available locations. James stared at the list and scrolled down a little.

"Humanity was a fun bunch", he said sarcastically "Ok then filter by location, Japan".

The computer beeped and the response made James' eyes widen in surprise.

"Well now… give me the schematics", he said and Mimir did just that

"Well that's a little problematic, alright then run the following simulation for me".

James winced as the computer displayed the outcome of a scenario he typed in. Mimir proceeded to display a list of all possible reasons why the scenario failed and how to rectify them.

"So that's what we're going to need then", he muttered to himself "Fine. I'm in no rush right now and there are plenty of other fun things for me to do."

"You sure you want a fight?" asked James to the couple before him "Don't get me wrong you two are accomplished but… I'm in a whole other level".

"You know I never knew you to be a cocky type", muttered Lindow cracking his knuckles "And are you sure its okay to be arrogant when we've got the numbers game?"

"I don't know Lindow", said Sakuya stretching her arms out "James turns into a total beast when its time to fight".

"And I'd like to see that myself", said the veteran then taunted James to come forward. In response the youngest of the trio present raced forward and covered the distance in a matter of seconds. He leapt up then spun around to deliver a kick to the side of Lindow which he quickly blocked by raising his hands up. The force of the attack though pushed him a little to his right.

Sakuya retaliated with a high kick but he moved in the air to avoid her. If that wasn't enough; both his legs wrapped around Lindow's head while he placed his hands on the ground; as a result he was sent barrelling towards Sakuya. To his luck though, the girl caught him in the air but this was something their opponent anticipated as he leapt up and over them then turned to attack with a straight right.

Sakuya held tightly onto her fiancée as she spun him around with his legs aimed at James. The teen stopped his attack and went into a split to narrowly avoid their combined attack.

The news of the wedding created a ripple effect amongst those present at the far east. Though they were all business when it came to missions, they were far more cheerful and positive when they returned. The only subject that everyone kept talking about was the day of the wedding itself which had yet to be decided.

This was why Lindow, Sakuya and James were found in the lounge. The youngest of the group displayed two pictures side by side behind him.

"The first thing that we're going for is the style of the wedding itself. We can either go traditional and dress like how they do in Japanese weddings or we can go with the western which is a dress and a suit".

"Which one do you think if feasible?" asked Sakuya

"Money really isn't a problem here, tell me what you guys want and we can work from there".

The two looked at each other for a moment, debating the decision. Then they turned to James and Lindow said "We're going western".

"Alright then, before you are a set of folders with locations and themes. In a couple of days I'll be showing you some concept designs for the brides and bridesmaids. The men will be wearing on a black tux with white gloves, a grey vest and a white shirt underneath with black pants and shoes."

"Now when it comes to food, where are we on that?"

"We were thinking something European", said Sakuya "I remember doing some training in the Paris branch a while back and I absolutely love the food".

"Alright, I know a chef, owes me a big favour so I'll fly him over here and we can start working up a course for you. Next is the list, how many are coming from your families because they'll need to be seated at the front in the church".

"Well my only family is Tsubaki", stated Lindow calmly "Of course I think of you as a brother".

"I'll probably be the only one there that won't need a seat because of the running around. What about you Sakuya?"

"Just like Lindow, I've got a sister who will be arriving here soon".

"Alright then, by the way; I'm going to need all the girls meeting here later in the day so I can take their measurements".

"What?" shouted Sakuya "James you can use our bio data, why do you need those measurements?"

"I've already checked and even without looking too much into it, I can tell you've lost at least 10 kgs in the past few months".

"Huh? How did you know that?" she asked looking a little embarrassed.

"I'm naturally good at noticing details", he replied "For example, you two only slept for five hours last night."

At that comment the two of them immediately turned red.

"Getting back to the matter at hand, the physical information Fenrir takes upon our arrival does not consider how much weight is lost or gained in that time and normally that makes sense. However when it comes to designing a dress that looks good on the bridesmaids but doesn't take attention away from the bride itself, I need to make dresses that are both captivating yet at the same time exerts a subtle charm."

"Wow", said Lindow stressing on every syllable "Never knew you were this dedicated.

"Of course I am. No half assing anything in my books. By the way Sakuya, it's not like I'm asking anyone to strip down or anything."

"Fine, fine but you better be careful about what you say", warned Sakuya "Women are particularly touchy about subjects like weight…"

James simply nodded in agreement with her in that regard. It did not take long for Sakuya to assemble the girls while James had asked Dr. Sakaki to make sure none of the boys were present in the lounge or the path leading to the medical room.

"Thank you all for coming here ladies, I promise to be brief so you can get back to work quickly", declared James tapping on a clipboard.

Things went on smoothly after that. James would call a name and they'd head to the medical room where he quickly noted down their new measurements onto a paper.

"By the way", said Tsubaki looking at James with a measuring tape draped around his neck "Why are you writing this on paper and not into the computer?"

"Ah, that's just in case someone tries to steal the information", he replied "It's not that I don't trust the guys or anything… just why run the risk that's all".

"Ma'am could you send in Kanon next?" he asked and the boss complied. Soon enough Kanon came in and James carefully took her measurements down. Like before and with all the others, he compared it to the information that Fenrir had to prove how outdated their system was.

He nearly spat out his water when he noticed a glaring difference looking over Kanon's information.

"James what's wrong?" she asked going wide eyed and quickly came to her friend's side.

"Nothing… just um Kanon quick question, what kind of diet do you stick to?"

"Well I don't have anything too greasy or high in fats coz it might mess with my aiming", she stated.

"Hmm…", he said furrowing his brow and stared more intently at her. "Then do you eat any special foods? Like dietary supplements or something?"

"Um… well I do drink milk", she replied "Mom always told me that it helps with growth".

"Well she's right about that", he muttered under his breath

"Why what's wrong?" asked Kanon

"Ah nothing don't worry?" he replied calmly "Just me voicing a few thoughts out that's all, send Alisa inside next".

Just as before, Alisa came in and James wasted no time in gathering the information he needed from her.

"By the way," she said while he noted everything down "Wow that was pretty quick, James how are you handling all this work?"

"To be honest it's fun", he replied "Alisa could you tell me your training regime?"

"Huh why?" she asked taken aback but the sudden change in topics

"Well try as I might with my regular training style, I notice that you have a remarkable set of abs", he replied then illustrated by poking his pen on her stomach, making the girl flinch a little.

"You know you didn't need to poke me like that", she said glaring daggers at him.

"Sorry, I was just curious. So how are you able to maintain such a lean and fit body?"

"Well I for one don't gorge myself on home cooking at every chance I get", she said with a smirk and James' expression fell.

"It's not my fault that I can't say no to good cooking", he retorted.

"Why are you so interested in slimming down?" she asked "its not like you're in a bad shape".

"True, but nothing wrong in picking up a new habit or anything", he replied calmly

"By the way, we still on for dinner tonight?" she asked about halfway out the door. Alisa and James would often have one day in the week where they would have dinner together. James would get the ingredients and she would cook for the two of them. She insisted on handling everything at first but he insisted on at least getting the ingredients so that he wouldn't be a bother.

The two had done this without fail for a while now but due to James' other two projects, he had often resorted to having a snack serve as a dinner instead of a regular meal.

"Sorry, not today either", he said apologetically "Tonight I'm going to start designing the dresses for the ladies so I'll be up all night".

"Then let me help you", she said turning back to him "Two hands are better than one after all".

James could tell that the girl was insistent on being a part of the process. As much as this would leave him even less time to work on his personal project… he knew he would have to let her help out or else raise suspicions.

"Ok, come to the lounge at ten pm tonight".


	51. Chapter 51

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Family

"Yes we're going with a light pink, imagine a pale rose", said James

"But isn't that a little too much?" asked Alisa "I remember this movie talking about how bridesmaids are supposed to wear things that aren't all that appealing to make the bride look even better."

"Yeah we're definitely doing that", said James dismissively "I want everyone to look wonderful and radiant on that day."

"Wait that reminds me about something", she said casually "I heard that in weddings, the bridesmaids are paired with the groomsmen."

"Well other than Fred, Annette, Hibari and Tatsumi, I haven't really decided on the pairings", he said calmly

"Do you at least know who you'll be pairing yourself with?"

"I won't be in the procession", he replied.

"What why?"

"Because I'll be so busy making sure everything is going smoothly that I won't even have time for a glass of wine"

"There's going to be wine?"

"Of course there is or maybe champagne. It depends on what Tommy says".

"Who's Tommy?"

"The chef I'm flying in to cater the whole thing"

"Don't you think it's too much for them financially?"

"That's right you don't know", he said tapping his chin "I'm bankrolling the whole thing. That'll be my present to the two of them".

"The tank is on it's last legs", called out James to Tatsumi, Brendan and Kanon "Let's wrap this party up".

Kanon and James stood side by side then fired multiple bullets at the quadriga. Brendan used his buster blade to shatter the front armour it hand, allowing Tatsumi to land as many blows as he could.

"James", called out Kanon who was halfway to the target. He saw the girl pointing to his left and saw a bus coming towards them.

"The hell is a pedestrian vehicle doing here?" he shouted out to all three of them. The tank saw this momentary lull in the attack and leapt into the air. The four of them figured that if the tank were to land, it would certainly crash into the bus.

On seeing this, James charged his spear up then flung it at the target while still in the air. The spear hit the tank on the side causing it to tilt just a little bit to the right but enough that it fell away from the bus. The vehicle passed by the teen while Kanon kept shooting at it. Brendan and Tatsumi attacked head on. James took this chance to retrieve his spear from the ground then join the trio in finishing off the aragami.

"Is your sister coming in today Sakuya?" asked Alisa to her companion seated next to her on the sofa.

"Yeah, she called me when her flight landed so she should be here within the hour", she replied.

"By the way, how'd you guys react to James saying he'll bankroll the whole wedding?"

"He said what?" shouted the veteran

"Ah, so he never told you", muttered Alisa to herself just as the elevator door opened up. Alisa turned around expecting to see the teenager they were talking about but instead found an unfamiliar face stepping into the lounge.

The girl had red coloured eyes and long black hair which she rolled up into a bun. She wore on a simple yellow and orange striped t-shirt with a sleeveless denim vest on top along with a pair of jeans to boot. One quick look at the girl's flawless face and well toned body and it would be easy for anyone to think that she was a model.

"Ayame", cried Sakuya happily running up the stairs and immediately embracing the girl.

"Hey sis nice to see you too", she said returning the hug.

"Alisa I want you to meet my sister", said Sakuya excitedly "This is Ayame Tachibana and Ayame, this is Alisa".

"Wow this is Alisa", said the girl smiling "Pleased to meet you. Sis told me a lot about you".

"All good things I hope", said the girl with a nervous chuckle.

"You should have told me when you were nearby, I would have come to see you", said Sakuya

"I wanted to surprise you. Sue a girl for being spontaneous", said Ayame with a shrug.

As this conversation went on, James and the team got off the elevator.

"James sometimes I swear you're not even human", said Tatsumi with a sigh "I mean who does that?"

"IT's not a big deal guys", he said trying to plead his case "I saw an opportunity and I took it".

"And by opportunity you mean kicking a rocket the tank fired at you then riding it and leaping off before it hit so that you could attack it as well?"

"Yeah pretty much", he said casually

"That isn't normal at all", cried Kanon.

"So before I meet your fiancée", said Ayame with a grin "I want to see that crazy kid you talk so much about".

"Crazy kid? You mean James?" asked Sakuya

"Yeah that lunatic, is he still alive?"

"Um…" said Alisa

"I mean based on the stories you're telling me I get the feeling the guys too reckless", said Ayame ignoring Alisa "I imagine he's probably laid up in bed for injuring another part of himself in the last mission".

"Um…" said Sakuya as well

"Knowing how crazy that guy tends to be", she continued, completely oblivious to the person standing behind her "He's probably got scars all over his face and has to be kept under constant supervision or else he might go causing trouble for everyone else".

"What is it guys?" she asked and the two pointed behind her. She turned around and raised her eyebrows as she said "Wow there, don't go standing behind people like that you nearly gave me a heart attack".

"A bit of a silent person huh?" she muttered to the two girls "Sorry about that let me start with intros. My name is Ayame Tachibana, you must be Lindow right? I heard Sakuya's marrying a real good looking guy but never expected him to be this good".

"Actually Lindow is a little older than me", said the teen with a pursed smile "Nice to meet you Ayame, I'm James Castor".

At this Ayame stared at the teen in disbelief, trying to connect the dots. When she did, she let out a cry of surprise so loud that just about everyone in the far east branch heard her.

"I can't believe you're that James", she said with her mouth hanging halfway open "From the letters I always thought…"

"Yes, yes let's not stay on that subject too long", said James finishing up his reports and sending an email to his two bosses. Now that that was done, he switched to his planning for the wedding.

"Oohhh are you looking at dress designs?" asked Ayame invading his personal space

"You know you don't have to stay awake", he said moving slightly away from her "You could go to sleep."

"Seeing as we'll be staying in the same room together, I thought it was best if we sleep at the same time", said Ayame then yanked the tablet from him "Oh these are good designs, you have a good eye for things like that".

"Back up a second here", he said with his hand up "What do you mean staying in the same room?"

"Well it's not like I can stay with Sakuya", she said "And we did get off on the wrong foot so I thought this would be a good way for us to mend fences".

"You don't have to do that", he said with a fake smile trying to hide how troublesome this arrangement was for him "Apologizing is enough".

"Huh?" she asked casting him a naughty smile "Why are you trying to keep me out of your room? Got something you don't want anyone else to see?"

'You have no idea', he said in his mind. Truth be told he had nothing to hide from her but he was still not happy with this arrangement.

"Well no I have no problems but…"

"Then it's settled", said Ayame looking at the tablet "Besides I already moved my clothes inside and don't worry about where to sleep or anything, I'll take the couch".

Night passed on without any incident and soon it was morning. Alisa was surprised to see Sakuya having breakfast alone. From what she gained in romantic movies, couples about to get married would spend more time together in the days leading up to the wedding.

"Hey Sakuya, where's Lindow?" she asked

"He's sleeping in today", she replied "Apparently Kota roped him into watching that T.V show so he only came to our room pretty late in the night".

"So how are things going with the wedding planning?"

"I have to admit, its going way better than I expected", she replied "Normally in cases like this, there's bound to be some mistake or mishap occurring at the last moment but so far things are going smoothly."

"You think it has anything to do with James?"

"It has plenty to do with it. He's been on top of things since the beginning so the two of us don't have to sweat too many of the details."

The pleased and calm look she had now vanished as if she remembered something important. This of course was noticed by Alisa who immediately voiced her concern on the issue.

"I totally forgot to tell him about Ayame's plans", she said

As if on queue, the two of them entered the cafeteria but much to Sakuya's and Alisa's surprise they were both singing a song like they were best friends since childhood.

"What's going on?" asked Sakuya looking visibly confused.

"The two of us were listening to a song from Zeke", replied Ayame sitting down next to her sister while James sat beside Alisa.

"You know that singer?" asked the older sister.

"Of course I do, good beats", he replied with a nod.

"Since when did you two start getting along so well?" asked Alisa shifting her gaze between the two.

"Since last night", replied James "We started talking about random stuff and before we knew it, it was already morning".

"You spent the whole night? Talking?" asked Sakuya to her sister like this was completely foreign news to her. When she noticed the perplexed looks the two opposite the table were giving her, she knew she had to explain.

"Let's just say", interjected Ayame "If I'm going to be up all night, it won't be for talking". This of course caused the two opposite to react, one with embarrassment while the other reacted in surprise.

"That aside", said Ayame smiling at the only boy at the table "You are quite a catch, how is it you're not dating anyone?"

"No time for it honestly", he replied with a shrug "Between work and training and sleep there's no time at all."

Ayame looked like she was about to say something. Sakuya looked like she wanted to stop her from saying something. Before the Tachibana sisters could react, Hibari made an announcement on the P.A saying that a man named 'Thomas Wolfram' had arrived and was heading to the cafeteria.

The group of four turned around to see an overweight man in a suit getting out of the elevator. He took a step out then immediately smiled calling out "James".

"Tommy", said the teen getting up and making his way towards the older man.

The mood turned from happy to tense all of a sudden when out of nowhere, the two punched each other in the face, startling everyone in the room.

"What's this?" asked James with the fat mans fist still in his right cheek "My fist just about bounced back. Don't tell me its because of all the food you've been eating chubsy wubsy?"

"Having an appreciation for food of a certain quality is something only a refined palette like myself can gauge and certainly not something a plebeian like you would understand".

The mood grew more and more intense. It looked like the two were about to lay into each other when…

"How's the restaurant doing?" asked James shifting back to his casual stance, completely changing the tone of the room.

"Everyday we're getting more and more volunteers and resources", said Thomas who did the same "Thanks to that I'm spending less and less time in my bid to seduce the lovely Jeanette".

At this point James directed the portly man towards the girls who had no idea what was going on. One moment they were greeting, then they were fighting and once again they were talking like it was a normal thing.

As he drew closer, they got a better look at Thomas. He was a five foot man with red dishevelled hair and a medium sized moustache to boot. Though he did look overweight, his clothes were tailored to cover it to some degree.

"My, my", said Thomas eyeing all three of them, speaking in an Italian accent then turned to James "Ever the charmer aren't you?"

"What?" asked Alisa

"Never mind that…", said James "Sakuya this is Thomas, he's the chef I was telling you about".

"Guys please meet Thomas Wolfram, the worst god eater I've seen but the best chef on the planet", he declared to the trio.

"Hey now what's with that detail?" snarled the man, wrapping his heavy arm around James and started to choke him

"So which one of you is the person I'll be catering to?" asked Thomas not minding his friends struggling for air. Sakuya hesitantly raised her hand and the chef clapped, finally releasing his strangle hold on the teenager.

"Thomas has a restaurant where he makes amazing and incredible food for the people in the ghetto and for everyone in the London branch", explained James like nothing was wrong.

"How do you bankroll all of that?" asked Ayame.

"The people contribute the ingredients and resources", replied Thomas "And there are many cooks who also help in the day to day".

"Isn't it a problem with you no longer there?" asked Alisa.

"Ah, not to worry", said Thomas cheerfully "I have a good sous chef to handle things in my stead".

"By the way…" he said looking at James "You decided on where you'll be getting the ingredients?"

"I'm asking Matthew of course", replied James like it was obvious.

"Who's Matthew?" asked Sakuya completely out of the loop

"A friend", replied the two simultaneously.


	52. Chapter 52

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: woohoo 366 views, thanks to all who viewed this FN guys. It means a whole lot.

The week before

While Thomas started working on the three course meals, James started stitching the dresses and suits for everyone. Soon enough, the couple decided on a church in Osaka as it was near the beach which the both said they liked a lot.

On the other side, James was having trouble moving forward with his own plans as well. If Ayame hanging around him and looking at all his work wasn't enough, Alisa now added herself to the mix. At first, three people weighing in on the subject was cause for concern but the trio were able to work out a system.

The good thing was that his form of relaxing came from talking to Ayame after they finished work and were getting ready to sleep. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, he learned more and more about the girl which greatly changed his earlier impression of her.

Soon enough James gathered all the teams in the lounge to announce the pairings. Kanon and Brendan, Gina and Shun, Karel and Licca, Soma and Tsubaki and Kota and Ayame.

"Wait doesn't that mean Alisa's left out?" asked Tatsumi

"Actually James and I are paired together", she stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh what's this?" asked Kota with a cheeky grin while he gently nudged his friend "Didn't you say that you wouldn't be paired with anyone because of all that work?"

"Yes but with the current pairings Alisa was the only one left out and I couldn't let her be alone on the wedding", he explained "So I offered and she accepted."

Of course what he didn't say was that one of the reasons she accepted was that Alisa insisted on them having at least one dance together. There were a few other reasons but he chose not to dwell on them for too long.

"Alright, I'll be sending you the dresses and tuxedos tonight", continued James "Tomorrow we'll be taking a plane to Hokkaido and staying in the dormitory near the church. Thomas and the others will be flying in separately along with all the decorations."

"Luckily there are no aragami in the Hokkaido district and things have quieted down over here so that's good. Also we'll be arriving there a week before the wedding to take that time to go out and enjoy the sights. I heard that its one of those rare places in the world that even the aragami stay away from".

Once that was done the group dispersed. James stated that he would be spending the day on decorations so he would be indisposed of for the rest of the day.

"Aww, here I was hoping that James and I could pair together", said Ayame with a huff when it was only her and Sakuya in the lounge.

"Ok, I have to ask; why are you taking such an interest in James?" asked the veteran.

"Promise not to laugh or judge me?" she asked and her sister nodded.

"I think… no I've definitely fallen for him", she replied and Sakuya narrowed her gaze

"See you're judging me", cried out Ayame.

"Well of course I would", said Sakuya "You know your track record".

In Sakuya's mind, her sister was never the type that wanted to settle down. She tried to be serious in all of her relationships but there was always something or the other that caused her to end the relationship.

Eventually there came a point where she never had a committed relationship so hearing her say those words troubled Sakuya a lot. As much as she cared about her sister, she did not want her to go after James.

"I know my track record looks like it but truth be told, he's different from the others".

"Different how?"

"You know what I mean", she said "You noticed it as well right? James is… a very dependable person".

"One thing I want to ask, James is he a good guy? Does he have any skeletons in the closet?"

Sakuya carefully pondered that question. On the surface he was a well-rounded person. Sure he lacked certain social skills and couldn't cook for his life but he was a capable person in all aspects.

There was however the feeling that he was hiding something about himself and she could not shake it off. This was evident in the way he planned his missions and his skill when it came to fighting. Being adept in combat was not something that someone at his age should be which is what baffled Sakuya to no end. It gave the impression that James was hiding something, the question was just how big of a secret would it be?

"Well he sounds good on paper but he's a real work in progress", she replied finally. Truth is there was another reason why she didn't want them to get together but that was not something she wanted to think about.

"Hmm", said Ayame stroking her chin "Weirdly enough that's not a bad thing. In this day and age who isn't completely great in relationships?"

"Don't worry though", she added "I promise not to do anything to steal the spotlight from you sis."

The journey to Hokkaido wasn't all that eventful. They all had their luggage and were fully ready a full two hours before the flight. When the party landed, they headed to the dormitory then divided into two teams. One team spent their days touring the old city while the second team (James) started working on decorations and ensuring that the church and reception area were ready for the day.

As the days drew closer, more and more of the couples friends and well-wishers started arriving. The night before the wedding was when both parties would spend one last night of fun outside but seeing as that wasn't an option given the state of the world, both the bridesmaids and the groomsmen opted to spend the night partying in their rooms.

Of course with all this going on, James sat outside of the dormitory with the tablet. Despite being miles away from the computer at the far east, he still had a good signal. With this he did his best to catch up on any work that had to be put on hold.

Everything for the wedding was set and ready, all that remained was the day in question which meant there was nothing he could do. So he set his sights on his other project, eager to get some progress on it.

Trouble was, he was so focused on what he was doing, that he failed to notice someone coming up behind him.

"Hey James", shouted Ayame so loud that the teenager was completely caught off guard by this. This caused him to toss the tablet in the air and he quickly caught it then turned to her in surprise.

"What was that for?" he asked with a frantic tone in his voice.

"Sorry, I got bored with what they were doing", she said and stood next to James "So why are you playing the role of gate keeper tonight when you should be partying with the guys".

"Sorry, there are plenty of things that still need to be taken care of even at this hour", he replied "Plus I have to make sure both sides keep their distance".

"Oh?" she said with a cheeky grin "You thinking there might be some late night rendezvous?"

"We're in a romantic place to celebrate the most romantic act in human culture", he replied "Of course a couple of people are going to get swept up in the romance of the whole thing and it's my job to make sure that doesn't happen."

"James you ever thought of taking a day off?" she asked casually

"Sometimes yeah but then I remember how bored out of my mind I'd be", he replied "By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I had a feeling that there would be at least one person among our little group not having fun", she replied "And looks like I was right".

"Well", he said looking at his tablet "I know it's not fun or anything but it's still something to keep my mind occupied".

"Hey Ayame", called a familiar voice from Sakuya's room "What are you doing outside *hic. Come in and have more funnnn".

"Well I should be going", she said lowering her head "That reminds me, James, tomorrow, you and I one dance".

"Wha… but"… he was unable to finish his sentence as Ayame gave him a quick peck on the cheek then darted back to the party.


	53. Chapter 53

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

I do

One good thing about being the only designated driver for parties is that the next day, you get to decide on how to wake up your drunk friends. This was a task that James took great pleasure in, given how he stood outside the boys room with an air horn in his right hand.

Seeing as time was of the essence, he promptly kicked the door open with as much force as he could, then walked right in and pressed down on the horn.

What resulted was a noise so intense that everyone snapped to their feet then rubbed their heads due to the hangover last night's party caused.

"Good morning maggots", he boomed like a drill instructor in the army.

"James its too early", groaned Lindow

"Yeah, let us sleep for a little longer", whined Kota.

"Sorry, not going to happen", replied James "You're all going to wash your face, clean up and get dressed".

"And I expect you all to be ready in one hour or else I'll play the national anthem of twelve different countries on maximum volume".

Not wanting to see him fulfil his word, the boys immediately darted out the rooms and to their own to get ready and get dressed.

James took this opportunity to wake up the girls' side as well with the same method and the same warning. Thanks to that, both sides were getting ready faster than before.

Still dressed in his clothes from yesterday, he took a moment to check up on the guys. They all gathered in Lindow's room again and were now running around trying to help each other get dressed and ready. He took a moment to retrieve a box from his bag then headed to the girl's room.

"Relax its only me", he said poking his head inside to stop the others from shouting and trying to keep him out.

"So how do you all like the dresses I made?" he asked

The bridesmaids all wore on a sleeveless light pink dress with a darker pink material around the waist and white flowers on the side. They wore a pair of matching white gloves which extended all the way up to their elbow They also wore on white high heeled shoes and had fake pearls inserted into their hair, to complete the look.

"This is amazing work James", said Tsubaki looking at herself in the mirror.

"James quick I need your help", said Hibari and turned around "Do me a favour and help me with the zip".

"By the way", he said to all of them "Where is Sakuya?"

"The other room", replied Kanon "by the way when are you going to change?"

"I'll take a couple of minutes", he replied and headed to the room Alisa pointed at. When he went through, he was at a total loss for words.

The basic design of the white dress itself bore similar features to the bridesmaid dresses, in that it was also sleeveless but that's where the similarities ended. The dress had carefully stitched flower petals with pearls to serve as the flowers. The dress itself wasn't flowing but instead wrapped gently around her figure. The front of the dress also had a carefully stitched pattern with plenty of pearls placed on it. The straps as well were not two thin loops of cloth, instead they were made of a cloth slightly darker than the rest of the dress and was bunched up to give her a more complete look. The gloves that she wore had a lacy design while the shoes she wore were pearl white as well.

Holding a bouquet of blue roses in her hand, Sakuya turned around to a stunned James and asked him "How do I look?"

"Wow", he said with his eyes wide in surprise and his mouth hanging open

"That's it?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"I can't think of any words", he said shaking his head "Truth is there are no words", he added slowly walking to her.

"You… you look amazing Sakuya", he said his lips curving into a smile.

"You think so?" she asked looking at herself in the mirror

"Yeah, you're gonna knock 'em flat", he said looking at her reflection.

"This must have taken you a long time to make huh?" she asked

"It was all worth it in the end", he said with a light laugh "Oh by the way, I got this for you".

"But I thought your present was taking care of the whole wedding", she said as James produced a large black display box for her.

"Apparently", he said opening the box to reveal a pearl necklace "These particular set of pearls can only be found in the gold Gboro-Gboro's which as you know are pretty rare".

She continued staring at it for a while before her eyes started welling up.

"Hey now", he said taking the necklace out and holding it up for her "This isn't the time to be crying".

"It's just", she said "You… you've done so much for us already James".

"Don't worry about it", he said placing it around her neck "Now promise me you won't cry alright".

"Deal but you have to promise me something too", she said just as he turned to leave.

As per the design, Lindow's tux was black with dark grey pants. He wore on a vest and white shirt underneath and had a pair of white gloves and black shoes to complete his look. He slapped come cologne onto his chin then took a moment to examine himself in the mirror.

"Well don't you look dashing", commented a familiar voice. He turned around and said "You know for the guy who's on everyone's case for not getting ready, you seem to be taking your time".

"Don't worry about me", said James striding in "I can get dressed in two minutes max".

Lindow chuckled at the audacious statement then looked at himself in the mirror "So what do you think?"

"You look great Lindow", he said helping him with the tie "Although there is one thing left to complete the look".

He looked at James who held a silver coloured watch in his hand.

"I had a friend of mine from Switzerland send this thing to me. It's accurate to a 100th of a second I think and the things made of pure silver while the hands and dials are made of gold".

"Whoa", he said looking at it and then back to James. "NO way can I take something like this, it must have cost you a fortune".

"It did but that's not a problem", he said with a shrug "I got plenty of cash to burn anyway and yes you are going to take it".

Soon enough the guys were all dressed and ready. They all stood outside Lindow's room ready to go to the church except for one person

"You're the only one that's left James", said Soma "Come on get dressed".

James held his vest and shirt in one hand with his tuxedo and pants in the other. Then he started spinning at speeds that no human should be able to. By the time he stopped, he was fully dressed and ready to go.

"You have to teach me how to do that", said Kota who was just as stunned as the others were by the new skill their teammate had displayed. Rather than asking how he did it, the teams all met up with their respective partners while Lindow led the way into the church.

The church itself was a gothic inspired piece of architecture taking inspiration from French architecture as well. That explained why there were many stained glass windows on either side, the chairs were wood of course but they gave off a shine which indicated that it was recently varnished. The isle had a few arches decorated with flowers and there was a lily taped to the sides of the benches. There were also plenty of balloons that hung up in regular intervals along with some on the ground.

"Unbelievable", said Tatsumi as they made their way down the aisle.

"How did you do all of this James?" asked Lindow

"It's easy when you're plenty motivated", he replied at the last.

While everyone was busy looking at the decorations, Alisa moved a little closer to James asking him "Did you do this all by yourself?"

"Yep, couldn't have the guests helping and I certainly didn't want to trouble you", he muttered to her only to get a light nudge from his partner

"Idiot", she whispered just as they reached the altar and separated. Everyone stood there quietly for a while till the guests started filing in.

"James have you ever considered being a party planner after you retire?" asked Dr. Sakaki standing behind them.

"Hey Doc, are you officiating the wedding?" asked Brendan

"Yes", he replied correcting his glasses "I'll make sure that this stays brief and simple".

Soon enough the guests had arrived. James nodded to the pianist who started playing the entrance tune. There was silence for a moment as everyone turned to the door, expecting the bride to walk in.

"Oh that's right", James said a little loud before darting down the aisle to fulfil his other duty. Outside of the church, he saw Sakuya waiting for him and without wasting anytime, he quickly put the veil over her hand, linked her arm with his and they entered.

It was clear enough based on everyone's expressions and that of the groom's that she looked absolutely amazing.

"Told ya, you'd knock them out", he muttered causing her to giggle a little.

Once they reached the altar, James handed her over to Lindow and took his place while Dr. Sakaki started.

As promised he kept things brief so that the couple could move to their vows. Lindow's vows were warm, kind and brought a tear to the eye of many who were listening. Sakuya's was thoughtful, carefully worded and full of love.

With one final declaration from Dr. Sakaki, the two kissed and everyone in the church erupted with applause to celebrate the newly wedded couple.

"Ladies and gentlemen", said James tapping on the champagne glass so that everyone in the reception area became silent "May I present, Mr and Mrs. Amamiya".

At his word, Lindow and Sakuya both took the centre of the stage to have their first dance as husband and wife. The dance continued till it was time for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to also join in.

"Hmm that's odd", said Alisa looking around "Where did James go?"

As much as he didn't want the two projects to overlap, the couple settling on Hokkaido was great news for him as it was incredibly close to another location he had his eye on.

Slinking away from the party he did not take long to find a warehouse near the beach, a good distance from the wedding itself. Once inside he headed towards the shelf on his left and pulled one of the dusty ornaments.

In response a door on the ground opened up, revealing a flight of stairs going down. He walked down the stairs, through the empty and lifeless corridor that seemed to stretch on for a good distance before stopping at a large open room.

He placed his hands on the keyboard and typed in a line of code. The room slowly came back to life with a few lights around him blinking and indicating the layer of cobwebs and dust that had formed in the absence of any humans.

James continued typing into the computer which displayed pages and pages of data at an incredible rate. Normally most people would never be able to read through it but he wasn't most people.

"Well this is a rather odd place to find you", said a voice from behind causing him to stop.

"And here I thought you went out to get a drink", the voice added as he turned around.

"Figured out of everyone here, you might have noticed what I was doing Dr. Sakaki", said James casually to the only other person in the room.

"I have had some doubts but I never would have guessed that you'd go to such lengths", said the doctor casually despite noticing the ominous object behind James.

"Ah yes, I understand that you might think I was going to do something drastic", said James with a wry chuckle "But if you would, please indulge me for a moment and listen to my plans. By the time I'm done I'm sure you'll agree with me".

"You haven't found him either?" asked Ayame and Alisa shook her head "Where did he go?"

"Guys I heard James went outside to the beach to have a quick drink", said Kota

"What?" shouted the pair at the same time

"I swear if he's drinking I will never forgive him", said Alisa grinding her teeth.

"He'd better not have even touched a bottle or else", added Ayame cracking the knuckles in her hand.

"Why do you two not want him to drink?" asked Kota and only got a pair of glares from the girls, causing him to shrink in their presence.

"James", said the doctor taking a step back "This is…"

"Crazy? Yes, Impossible? Yes but will that stop me? Not a chance".

Sakaki took a moment to collect his thoughts and try to wrap his head around the bomb his subordinate just dropped "How far have you proceeded with this plan?"

"I have half the resources required to make it happen. The main problem is the design and final testing", he replied crossing his arms "I'm not particularly good in this subject compared to you so I was hoping…"

"You want me to aid you in this suicide mission?" asked the doctor.

"Of course I do"

"I don't need to remind you the number of things that could cause the mission to fail".

"I've done most of the math myself, it won't change my mind"

"Why? Why do you feel the need to do this?"

"If one has power in this world, then it becomes their duty to use it for the benefit of others", replied James as if quoting from his personal bible "That aside I think it would be a fun mission".

"A mission that will most certainly end in your death", countered the doctor, the lightness leaving his voice.

"Am I to take it that you don't want to help?"

"I will help", said the doctor "If we can lessen the dangers then I'm all for it, but there is one condition."

"You have to survive and tell me the whole story", he said narrowing his gaze.

"Sounds like a good deal", said James extending his hand out "Good to be working with you partner".

"And here's to the success of the craziest mission you have ever created, partner", said the doctor and shook his hand.

The two first of all decided not to tell another soul about what they had planned then left the warehouse. On the way they discussed a number of things dealing with the next step and how they should proceed.

Their conversation of course was cut short when they saw Kota come and drag James back in as he stated that the two girls are about to blow a gasket.

Upon arrival, James had to quickly lie to the girls that he went out to get a little drink. He was then given a sound lecture by Ayame and Alisa on why he should never touch alcohol in the first place.

"Well that aside", said Ayame looking at James "Let's go dance".

Before he or Alisa could say anything, Ayame grabbed his hand and immediately took him to the dance floor. The bride, groom and everyone else all noticed the two dancing in the centre of the stage, to the tune of a fast paced song played by the band. Everyone was surprised to see how well the two of them danced and a few commented on how they both had good chemistry as well.

Almost everyone…

Alisa felt a lump forming in her stomach ever since Ayame had come to the far east but did not want to say anything because of the occasion. She believed that as time went on, this feeling would fade but it was the opposite.

"Hey there", said James snapping her out of her thoughts, causing her to act a little confused.

"I know it's a little late", he added with an apologetic smile while extending his hand to her "But would you like to dance?"

As much as she was angry at him for first vanishing like a ninja and dancing first with Ayame, she couldn't stay mad at him. The girl placed her hand in his and he led her to the dance floor.

Instead of something quick and fast, this song was a slow one which was good for her.

"By the way", he whispered "You need to put your feet on my shoes".

Alisa's face became red, wondering whether or not he actually found out about her secret.

As if he was psychic James once again silently whispered "I know you can't dance, that's why I made everyone's dresses so long".

She only now noticed that it wasn't just her but most of her teammates as well were having trouble dancing. She slowly and carefully placed her feet on top of his shoes, allowing him to guide her across the floor.

"How did you know?" she asked her head not meeting his gaze.

"Lucky guess", he replied.

As the two continued to dance, Alisa started to relax more and more. She slowly placed her head on his shoulder, fully giving herself over to the music and the dance. James noticed this but said nothing and continued.

Alisa now understood why she felt that lump in her stomach and why she was not feeling it right now. She was jealous seeing him hanging around with anyone else and the reason she felt that jealousy was simple;

Whether it be the moment, the music or the event itself, Alisa realized that somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love with James.

AN: oh my goodness, more development and what is this plan that James and Sakaki are working on? Oh so many questions and next chapter will be going back to the final story arc of the first god eater game.


	54. Chapter 54

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Setbacks

It had been three days since the wedding and now it was time to send the couple off on their honeymoon.

This explained why Tsubaki and James were at the airport watching the two of them board the plane. Once they saw it leave, they headed to the car and drove back.

"Now that it's the two of us", said the senior in an attempt to break the silence on the way back "Could you tell me why you're doing so much for the two of them?"

"I imagine that they're going to start a family pretty soon", said James looking out the window on the way back "If that's true and in this economy they're going to need all the help they can get. They certainly aren't going to let me help them and they'll only accept your help for a little while before doing things on their own".

"So if I could lessen their expenses a little bit and make things even a little easier for them then that's enough".

"But from what I heard all of this turned into a very expensive venture", she said still facing the road ahead "Wouldn't that make it difficult for you and your dreams?"

"Nah not really", he said not wanting to elaborate on the subject. He always played the role, making it sound like he had a big and lavish retirement planned in the future but that was a farce, an over-the-top lie he constructed on a whim during his orientation.

In the end there was only the mission, the next fight and the next enemy. Everything else mattered little to him.

"Oh by the way", he said tilting his head inside and looking at his boss "Please don't tell anyone about what happened with Ayame".

Tsubaki chuckled to herself a little recalling the incident. Before they sent the couple on their honeymoon, they saw Ayame off. Before the girl left however, she professed her love for James and that she would make him fall for her eventually. As if to seal the promise, she gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving.

"I promise", she said smiling a little.

With the wedding over and done with, the teams from the far east branch returned to their work. As always there were aragami to slay which meant a god eater's work is never done.

One thing James noticed changed a lot was his relationship with Alisa. The two of them started spending more time together even having dinner in her room twice instead of only once a week. She even made it a point to stay awake in the nights adding her hand into the mix so that Hibari's work could be finished faster.

While this was all well and good on the surface, in his mind he viewed this as a wrench in the plan. With his project no longer in the idea stage and moving onto the planning and design stage, he needed the materials required to bring it to life. Now some of the materials were items that would catch the attention of his co-workers so he planned to go out in the night and hunt for those parts, a task that proved difficult given the current situation. He sometimes toyed with the idea of wanting to have a little more space but realized how that would be a bad thing.

After another day of working late into the night and bidding the red head good night, the pair found themselves to be the only two still awake so late at night.

"James I just realized now that Sakuya's no longer here, you'll need a sparring partner in the mornings right?" asked Alisa as if realizing something important.

"That's not really a problem for me", he said realizing where this was going and wishing to nip the bud as quickly as possible.

"Really? But don't you learn more when there's someone with you?" she asked

"In most cases yes but I'm different in that way", he countered "So it might be a bit weird at the start but I'll overcome it eventually".

With that taken care of and no desire to continue, James made an act of looking like he was tired. Alisa too stated that it was pretty late and without fail they both went to their rooms to sleep.

Of course after twenty minutes passed, the door to his room opened and James stepped out. With no one else in the world, he had no reason to hide behind his mask. His eyes now glowed their icy blue as he strode towards the god arc storage facility. He took his weapon, his fang out of storage then headed out without making a single noise.

This was a completely unsanctioned mission, as such there was no transport, no resources and nothing to help him should he find things difficult. James smiled a little to himself recollecting how he was used to such situations back then with his team of ten.

"Ah what a nice night", he muttered to himself and ran out of the Fenrir branch without saying another word.

He returned back to the base just as the sun was creeping up from the horizon. Like a magician, all he did was wave his hand over his face and the change occurred. Once again the mask was on and he returned to his normal self.

James deposited the god arc in its place, erased all history that indicated it was taken out then headed to the training room. He had not got any sleep but that was not a problem for him. He once spent a whole week wide awake, waiting for a particular target so a single day was nothing to him.

Soon enough the rest of the world also woke up by the time he finished training. The teenager headed to his room and took a moment to check all his resources. Sure enough the list of things needed were lesser now which was a good thing indeed. With that positive thought, he stripped down and got into the shower.

The day itself did not seem of note in his mind. They went on the usual hunts and faced off against a few fallen types which did put up a decent challenge, but not one that remained in the minds of the hunters for all that long.

By the time the three teams were done, it was night and time to close up.

Tonight Hibari was able to finish her work a lot faster than normal which was welcome news to James as it gave him an excuse to 'turn in early' allowing him to do more work once everyone was asleep.

The only problem with that plan came in the form of a plucky, positive teenage boy who grabbed James when he saw him come out of the elevator and take him back to his room so that they could watch some T.V shows.

This was one of those times where James didn't want to end things quickly as the two of them were quick to become friends. It did hurt a little that they had spent less time together which probably explained why Kota insisted on them watching T.V that night.

"Oh man I can't believe that twist at the ending?" asked Kota turning off the tablet and blinking a couple of times "Who knew it was the butler in the end?"

"Yeah that is true", said James looking at the clock "Hey dude isn't it about time that we head in and catch some shut eye?"

"No way man, we've still got a whole season of that murder drama show to watch", beamed Kota in delight. James wanted to object but could not in the end, one thing that the teen noted in his mind was that he did have a weakness of not being able to say no to his friends requests, even if they clashed with his other goals.

Three weeks of no sleep and the soldier was starting to feel the effects of it. The old team that he ran with were a bunch of battle hardened fanatics. They were the toughest kind of iron that one would ever find and their lifestyle reflected that. As such when he joined, he forced himself to rise to their lofty standards which he was able to do through sheer force of will.

The trouble was that after living that kind of life, one can grow somewhat complacent with how the god eaters lived. This fixed type of lifestyle caused James to neglect the rigorous training that steeled his body and mind like how he did before.

That problem finally manifested itself during one particular mission with a fallen tank when it leapt up and would attack with an ice stomp. It was a relatively easy attack to dodge so everyone quickly moved out of the way. James however did not and paid dearly for it when the tank fell with the force of a falling building and produced a wave of ice that knocked the leader of the retaliation team into the building.

By the time he woke up he found that he was back in his room nursing the mother of all headaches. It took a moment for his mind to remind him what just happened and he lowered his head in frustration.

He momentarily tried to get off his bed, only to have his efforts stopped by a familiar face.

"I heard that you might be behaving a little too reckless", said Sakaki gesturing for James to sit back in bed.

"It isn't being reckless at all", he said not looking at him in the eye "This is how I've normally operated".

"If that's true then it's certainly a change in pace that others haven't noticed which is definitely cause for concern", countered the doctor.

"Unfortunately with things as they are, there's only so much time in the day that can be devoted to the side project. At the moment it is bleeding into my work but it's only like this for now. Trust me I will adapt to the changes without fail".

"You know you could simply do a little less work from now on", suggested Sakaki and James seemed surprised by the idea

"You never thought of it?" he asked and James shook his head.

"Well to elaborate, duties like helping Hibari out in the nights or spending a little less time with everyone on the team", he elaborated "Of course you don't have to cut ties with them altogether, I'm simply saying that instead of spending 3 hours, spend two"

."Won't that raise some questions?"

"At first yes but as long as you don't do anything to raise even more questions then I'm sure that things will settle down soon".

James nodded and the doctor left.

Elsewhere in a nameless part of the far east, a single unique aragami made its way through the ruins all around. It's progress came to a halt when it came across the Vajra, Pritvi mata and Dyaus pit or more commonly referred to as the lion trio.

The trio roared at the newcomer, baring their fangs in a display of intimidation. The new aragami did not falter under their threats and stood it's ground.


	55. Chapter 55

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: as much as I did like the third story arc, it felt a little too elongated to me which is why we're going to get to the good stuff pretty fast.

Doubts and regrets

Today the team had two objectives in mind, first was recon and the second was rescue.

In the past few days, the far east branch heard rumours of a ghost girl wandering around the battlefields that aragami would normally frequent. A little inspection into the matter allowed them to learn of her description; a young looking girl with white skin and yellow eyes wearing only a torn flag as clothing.

In the minds of the retaliation team, there was only one person that fit the description but the last time they saw her, she made the ultimate sacrifice to save their world. The branch decided it was best to investigate the issue further and sent out the recon team to one of the locations. They did not find the girl, however they did encounter a new type of aragami who's attacks caused everyone to split up.

In the end Tatsumi was the only one to return as he explained how he got separated from Kanon and Brendan. With that said, Soma, Kota, Alisa and James wasted no time in gathering their god arcs and heading out to find their comrades.

The four of them all felt the sting of losing a friend and did not want to lose another. The team arrived at the ruined city and divided into two groups to widen the search area.

"The signals getting stronger", she said hearing that both teams were nearing the last known locations of Kanon and Brendan.

As James and Soma drew closer, they saw a conspicuous looking pebble rolling towards them. Curious they turned in the direction of the pebble, seeing a familiar face poking his head out from the side.

The two of them rushed to Brendan's side but were stopped when a new aragami landed before them, the force of its descent, knocked them both back.

The aragami bore a similar resemblance to the one that Johann piloted but there were noticeable differences. Firstly, it did not have the beastly companion behind her, her body was completely blue with the legs and feet all in the shape of spikes. Its body had white lines drawn all over with one large circle in the face and a large halo behind it.

"The hell is this thing?" snarled Soma.

"Our next kill", replied James and Soma scoffed in agreement.

The two found out that not only was did it bear a resemblance to the aragami that protected the Nova, it's move set was also similar in that it attacked with an arm swing but it's arms grew longer than they had expected allowing its range of attack to drastically increase. The two attackers skidded back, narrowly avoiding its attack then James switched to gun mode and fired a few shots at the aragami.

In response to that, it took out its halo from behind and fired a massive beam of energy. The two of them immediately leapt to the side to avoid the beam that tore through the wall behind them and everything else that tried to impede its path.

When the aragami's attack stopped James immediately attacked it with a barrage of spear thrusts, each one landing but could not break through the powerful armour it had on.

Soma leapt up and attacked with a downward slash, the aragami immediately turned to him and rose its hands up to block but the buster blade earned its name today when it broke the armour and caused it to stagger.

The aragami let out a fierce cry of frustration from this but neither of the attackers backed down. Instead Soma lobbed a flashbang while James threw a few traps on the ground. The aragami glided towards them with the speed of a car then attacked with its elongated arm. James quickly held his shield up, deflecting the attack and Soma ran along it's extended arm then jumped off to land an attack on it's halo and shatter it.

"That takes care of that", said Soma with a smile landing behind it. It turned around, ready to attack with a swinging kick but James ran forward with his charged spear The aragami's body tilted back to avoid the swing from his blade then shot both her arms out, crashing into James and sending him high into the air.

James hit the top of the wall then quickly grabbed onto a part of the exposed ceiling, pointing his spear at the aragami while Soma kept it distracted.

He waited till the aragami was directly under him then kicked the ceiling and sent him down. Before he could land, he spun on his side to achieve the necessary speeds required and perform the same move he did on the black Hannibal in Lindow.

Soma watched as the drill that was his teammate, slammed into the aragami with incredible speed and power, creating a giant hole in its body, making it impossible for it to mount any retaliation at all.

"Care to explain how all this happened?" asked James to Brendan while Soma carried him.

"I'm sorry", said the teen with his head lowered "When the aragami attacked I should have retreated with Tatsumi and the others but… I… I wanted to make up for the arc incident".

"What about it?" asked Soma

"When it was time for us to decide on whether or not to stay and go… I only thought of myself and decided to go. I never knew we were all pawns to the former director and when it was revealed to be a lie, I felt so terrible".

"So when there was a chance for me to prove myself.. ow", he said when James flicked him on the head "What was that for?"

"Did anyone look at you differently for your decision?" asked James and he shook his head.

"Did anyone treat you differently?" he asked and got the same reply.

"Then why did you feel the need? Don't forget you're not the only one who decided to go. Kanon, Kota and Karel all decided to do and no one holds it against them".

"I know but…"

"Clearly you don't Brendan", said James then took a breath "Look, in times like those there is no such thing as a good decision. You made your choice and we made ours and what happened, happened. The best thing you can do is learn from it and move on."

"Alright you've laid into him plenty now, give the guy a break", said Soma surprising the two of them "When's the last you've eaten?"

"Lunch from yesterday", he replied and his stomach groaned in agreement.

"We can deal with the debrief after he's eaten, don't you think leader?" he asked and James quietly stared at him.

"Hey guys", called out another voice from the distance. The trio saw Alisa and Kota carrying Kanon on his back. The teams met up then headed back to the base.

After Brendan got an earful from Tsubaki and everyone ate dinner, it was time to sleep. Feeling a little restless and in the mood to talk or play some games, Alisa stood outside and knocked on James' room a couple of times but got no response.

"hmm", she muttered to herself and pressed the door, surprised to see that it was open. She went inside and found that no one was there.

Growing ever curious she made her way to the lounge, thinking that he might be up doing a little reading. When the girl drew closer to the lounge she heard his voice but it sounded like he was in conversation with someone.

"So this is the required speed we'll need to be going to break the escape velocity barrier", he said "And what about the return trip".

Oddly enough she did not hear a response but he continued the conversation "Adding the extra weight… this would be the newly required speeds we'd need to be going."

"Who are we talking about?" asked Alisa making her presence known.

"Hey Alisa, what are you doing up?" he asked turning to her.

"I was feeling restless and now I get why", she said slowly coming down the stairs "James who were you talking to?"

"Oh that?" he said holding his tablet up "It's an old interactive space exploration software I found in storage".

"Huh?" she asked looking at the tablet.

"It's something like a game where you can create your own adventure and the software creates scenarios based on that", he said handing the device to her "Go ahead and try one".

"hmm", she said examining the contents "It only let's me select a few base classes".

"Well yeah you have to give the creators some leeway, they created these base classes to serve as a foundation for your character and the story progresses from that point on".

"I'm not quite sure I understand it but it does sound fun", she said slowly giving him the tablet "James is there something going on that you're not telling me?"

"What? No, why would you think that?"

"Call it a hunch or maybe even over analysing the whole thing", she replied with her hands behind her "But I get the feeling that…"

"I'm hiding a secret?" he asked finishing the sentence and she nodded "There's nothing going on here Alisa, sure I may have spread myself a little too thin the past few days hanging out with everyone but that's it nothing more".

"Alright", she said sighing in relief "Then you don't mind if I stay here with you for a while?"

"Uh, I thought you wanted to get some sleep", he said looking confused.

"I said that I was feeling restless", she said sitting beside him "I'll hang around here for a while and head back afterwards".

James nodded in agreement but sighed in his mind. Her presence meant he would have to be careful with his plans which also meant he'd have to postpone some of the planning work. He also needed to be extra careful as it seemed Alisa was starting to grow suspicious of him and he did not need that.

Alisa on the other hand had found it difficult to find a good time to tell the boy she loved that she loved him. Though right now would be a good moment to, she could not shake the feeling that there was something he was hiding, despite him saying there wasn't.

In the end she believed it was her own mind jumping at shadows so she thought the best thing she could do was relax herself a little. She remembered the time when she saved him from the Vajra and subsequently falling asleep on his shoulder during the ride home.

Sitting beside him like this, she started to feel more relaxed now and could feel herself slowly drifting away.


	56. Chapter 56

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Encounter with the unknown

Progress came at the expense of sleep. He received a message from one of his 'friends' that the delivery of parts he requested for had finally arrived. Under the cover of a pitch black night when not even the light of the moon could illuminate the world below, the blue eyed hunter made his move.

He arrived at the location in question and quietly looked at the delivered parts. When it came to the construction, particularly acquiring the much larger parts for the structure, it was not something he could simply move on his own without attracting the attention of others. Sure enough his already careful actions at playing it safe had caught Alisa's eye which he was barely able to dodge through a few (albeit terribly thin) lies. He would have to play things even safer or risk getting discovered.

It's not that he was doing anything that had terrible implications but it was something that the others would want to be a part of and he could not have that. This is something that only someone like him could do, only someone like him could survive the arduous road ahead.

He was able to assemble the base without too much trouble and when it was done, he looked at the moon's position and realized that it was time to head back.

As he headed back to the base and the people that he had come to call his friends, he wondered if he could actually do it. Sure he talked a big game to the doctor playing it off like it was nothing but when it came to take that first step, that step that would forever change his life… could he do it?

'Yes', he shouted in his mind, recollecting why he became this strong. His desire and drive to continue evolving was not something born without reason. It was because there was a point in his life where he was helpless, he was unable to save even a single soul and that would never happen again.

He entered the base, took the elevator and reminded himself that the bonds he forged during his time here were as powerful as the nine bonds he had back in the day. They were his friends, they were his family and he would not let anything happen to them.

"You know this has all the earmarks of that damned Hannibal thing", said James once the briefing was complete.

He was right, Hibari gathered the retaliation team in the briefing room and with Dr. Sakaki she explained that the recon team started picking up oracle readings similar to the nova and when they arrived at those locations, they found aragami had been torn to pieces with no sign of the perpetrator. Sakaki worried that this could be another dangerous aragami and believed it would be best for the retaliation team to find out about this threat and deal with it quickly.

"I understand that you're concerned given what happened", said the doctor "But it does not change the fact that that this is a problem that needs to be taken care of. As such it is important that the retaliation team deal with this threat as quickly as possible".

"Well don't worry about it buddy", said Kota with a reassuring pat on the shoulder "We won't let the same mistake happen again".

James gave an exasperated sigh and understood that this was part and parcel of working with Fenrir so in the end the team of Soma, Alisa, Kota and James headed to the temple where the last known reading was taken.

When they got there they found a completely different looking aragami munching on the remains of a tank. It had the body structure of a Vajra but that was about it. It's fur was white while it's claws were pink and it had the face of a woman.

"Hey maybe its just me", muttered James to the others "But doesn't it's face remind you of…"

"That nova thing right?" asked Kota and the two boys nodded in agreement.

"Keep your wits about you when engaging the enemy and we'll all walk away from this", said James shifting to gun mode. Alisa did the same and she, Kota and James fired a barrage of bullets thus attracting its attention and starting the fight.

The aragami charged forward it's jaws opening widen than normal and tried to bite one of the shooters but they all dashed to the side to avoid it. This allowed Soma to charge right in with a sword thrust and wailed on the creature's head.

The aragami leapt back reaching the range of James' weapon who immediately attacked with a barrage of thrusts to the feet and stomach. It spun around in an attempt to knock him back and he did indeed fall back to avoid the attack but once that was done, Alisa stood by his side and the two of them attacked with slashes and spear thrusts, causing the aragami to run away.

"Not a god damned chance", barked James and threw a paralysis trap. The small sphere which contained the trap flew at incredible speeds, catching up to the target, thus rendering it immobile.

James leapt up on its back and started attacking it once again. This may be a combination of two different aragami's but it was certainly weaker than either one of them.

While he continued his attack, he noticed that though all his thrusts landed, he was not seeing any signs of damage. Quickly leaping back and joining the others, they spread out to attack it from all sides while Kota stayed in the rear to provide back up.

"Everyone fall back right now", he declared surprising everyone but they did as asked.

"What's going on?" asked Soma.

James ignored the question for a moment and took a second to study his target a little more carefully. Given how many hits it had taken and how everyone aimed their attacks at it's weaknesses, he should have seen the armour break or the bonds on the target shatter.

Yet the aragami turned around to give out another roar and indicated that it was still at 100 percent.

"We're switching attack patterns", he declared walking forward "Kota stick to flanking position and engage in long range. Soma, watch for openings in its attacks and capitalize. Alisa, back me up".

The aragami suddenly charged much faster than before, knocking the boy and girl into the building but they quickly got back up and resumed their attack. The aragami waited for them to near then leapt to the skies and hit the ground with its front paws, creating a powerful shockwave that went out in all directions.

James jumped over while Alisa slid underneath and the two started attacking the target.

"What the?" asked Alisa in shock when she struck the aragami but found that her god arc only hit the surface of it.

"Damn it", said James also finding the same problem.

"Alisa fall back right now", barked James to the girl but his orders came too late. The aragami fired an energy beam at her and she could not react in time. Alisa was sent high into the air as a result and the aragami took to the skies then aimed itself so that when it landed, it would crush the girl under it's weight.

The others watched on in shock as the aragami hit the ground, sealing the fate of their comrade.

Or that's what should have happened…

James placed his rappel gun back in his jacket and silently thanked himself for always having it on him. He used the gun to catch Alisa while she was in the air and catch her before the aragami could unleash its other attack.

Now cradling the unconscious Alisa in his arms, James rested her against the building then grabbed his god arc and charged at the aragami, impervious skin or not; he would not allow it to win today.

Soma joined James in attacking the aragami with as many strikes as it could but all of them did no damage whatsoever.

Seemingly impervious to the attacks the aragami charged forward knocking them both back and sent them crashing through multiple buildings. The aragami fired another energy beam at the shooter but he moved aside to avoid it. Kota ran as fast as his legs could take him while turning around and continued firing at the aragami but his bullets kept bouncing off the thing.

The aragami leapt forward, landing before Kota and removed his way of escape. It swiped at the hunter with its claws but he got his shield up in time to block it. The force of the attack staggered him back a little but he wasn't hurt

For now…

Too late did Kota see the aragami form a column of light underneath him and he was hit with a powerful column of energy and knocked him out.

James and Soma finally reached the area, quickly realizing what happened.

The retaliation team leader said nothing. All he did was reveal three packs of flashbangs in his jacket to Soma who quickly understood. He lobbed one grenade which stunned the creature and the two of them attacked.

Once the effect of the grenade wore off, he would lob off another and repeat the process all over again. This was a sound plan in theory and against any other aragami it would have worked. The only problem was that this worked with most aragami.

On this one… not one of their attacks did any visible damage. With a swipe from it's claws it sent both of them skidding back. They did not have time to recover as it charged forward and rammed its tank sized body into the two hunters, knocking the wind out of them.

"Damn it", hissed James as he and Soma slowly got to their feet 'At this rate'.

He charged at the enemy but his mind kept flashing back to the past and the present. Memories of fire and death, the feeling of rain on his skin, the cries of the boy behind him and the despair he felt back then.

The aragami shrugged off the barrage of attacks he threw at it and swiped its massive claws at James which landed a deep wound on the soldier. James fell to his knees but did not back down, he grit his teeth and stood back up then attacked alongside Soma but the aragami had enough.

Once again they realized too late the area under their feet start to glow brighter and neither of them could react to it in time. They were both hit hard by the energy column that erupted under their feet and the two hunters were struggling to stay vertical in the face of this monster.

"Damn it", hissed Soma then turned to James "What do we do?"

His mind analysed all the scenarios and the outcomes; none of them involved all four of them making it out alive. He hated such ideas, he absolutely hated the idea of leaving someone behind and refused to accept a scenario where he would have to do that.

Then something happened…

As if an angel was descending from the heavens itself, the three fighters saw a pale white figure enter the battlefield. From the look of the figure and the hair, the two boys believed it to be a girl as her back was to them and they could not get a definitive answer.

The aragami seemed familiar with this new entrant and roared fiercely at the girl but she was undeterred. The girl marched forward with her left hand out, exerting an invisible force on the aragami and causing it to move back in pain.

Eventually when it was backed against the wall, it quickly turned around and leapt away.

Soma and James looked at each other, their eyes opened wide in surprise and shock as the answer hit them like a bullet. Mentally the duo cursed themselves for not realizing why the girl before them looked so familiar.

"Shio?" they said and the girl turned around, to confirm it.


	57. Chapter 57

p class="MsoNormal"Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines./p  
p class="MsoNormal"AN: we're nearing the end of the first FF and omg 404 views in my first one. Thanks a whole lot to everyone who viewed it and please look forward to the next one./p  
p class="MsoNormal"We're only 4 or 5 chapters away from the thrilling conclusion so stay tuned for more./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"Fallen angel/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm telling you I'm fine", said James sitting up despite the protest of the doctors./p  
p class="MsoNormal""James if you get up you'll only open your injuries", barked Lindow and hit James on the head, forcing him to sit back down on the hospital bed./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Now walk us through everything that happened", said Dr. Sakaki while Tsubaki, Sakuya, and Lindow all listened./p  
p class="MsoNormal"James told them about how the girl did acknowledge them but before either of them could get over what just happened, she vanished./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Vanished like in ghost vanished?" asked Lindow and James nodded/p  
p class="MsoNormal""This is honestly something I have no idea about", noted the director while adjusting his glasses "We have no information at the time so it could be any number of things."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""In regards to the aragami however", stated Tsubaki "I've issued a do not engage order to the teams and will have the recon drones monitor its progress"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Also it's ability to seem impervious to the god arcs attacks", stated the doctor "I think I have an idea but I will need to go over the details with Hibari"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""If you'll excuse me", he said getting up and Tsubaki followed him behind./p  
p class="MsoNormal"James lowered his head, slowly turning to the side and looked at Alisa and Kota's unconscious body. For reasons unknown to them at the moment, the fight with the aragami caused the oracle cells in their bodies to go into flux which was playing havoc with their bodies. They were given a few sedatives to calm them down but right now doctors were scrambling for ideas on how to reverse the effects./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hey now", said Sakuya rubbing James' back "Don't go getting all morbid and dark on us"./p  
p class="MsoNormal"In response to that, James only gave her a confused look./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You're blaming yourself for what happened right?" asked Lindow and he nodded/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Would there be any consolation if I told you that you couldn't do anything about it?" he asked and James did not respond, which was an answer in itself./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Alright James you are at that point where many other leaders before you have stood", said Lindow while Sakuya and James listened "At this juncture in their lives they are faced with two decisions; one will lead to them becoming great leaders and the other one will turn them into washouts"./p  
p class="MsoNormal""So", he said looking at James "Which one are you going to be?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"The couple looked at the teenager who seemed to ponder the question deeply. As much as they wanted to help him, they knew he had to make this decision himself./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Let's go get revenge", he said and the two of them smiled, knowing that the teen before them made the right decision./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; text-align: center;" align="center"* * * * * * * * * * * * */p  
p class="MsoNormal"In the days that followed, things started going at blinding pace. The new aragami was designated as 'Arius Nova' seeing as it bore a striking resemblance to the Nova creature that protected the main body back in the arc incident./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Thanks to more investigation from the recon drones, they found out that the aragami had a unique composition in that because of it constantly consuming so many powerful deusphages, it's bias factor somehow became the same as the god arcs. Because of that, the weapons they had would not work./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Once this was understood, the plan became two fold; it fell to Hibari's shoulders to locate rarer and therefore much stronger aragami for the team to hunt. By having the retaliation team consume more aragami cores with unique bias factors, it would enable them to combat the Arius./p  
p class="MsoNormal"This was good news but it was immediately met with a roadblock. Two days after the plan was declared, Hibari noticed that the Nova was also of the same mind as well and continued hunting Deusphage class aragami and stronger in an effort to become completely invincible to the god arcs powers./p  
p class="MsoNormal"This was why James and Soma headed to Aegis island once again. They had reports of an aragami with a unique bias factor which they needed right now. If this wasn't enough to serve as a motivation, gaining this aragami's core could allow the doctors to work on a cure for Alisa and Kota. The two of them steeled their minds and left the helicopter./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Though neither of them talked about it, the two of them did keep thinking about meeting Shio and what the implications to that were. Hundreds of questions ran through their mind and not one of them could provide a definitive answer./p  
p class="MsoNormal""You ready?" he asked looking at the aragami standing in the centre as if waiting for them. Soma nodded and the two of them leapt off their ledge and started their attack./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The aragami before them was called a Venus, a god of beauty from a forgotten time in human history. Truth be told though, that name sounded like an ironic one when looking at the creature before them./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The top half of the aragami was a woman with long orange hair, yellow coloured eyes and a pair of large goat like horns protruding from the head. The lower half of her body was something else entirely. It was a giant four legged beast coloured purple and had numerous large yellow pustules around its body. The woman gestured at them seductively but both of them were not in the mood for playing./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The two of them attacked head on with a barrage of strikes and thrust attacks that only slightly penetrated the surface of the creatures almost impervious skin/p  
p class="MsoNormal""The hell?" asked James "Is this thing like the Arius?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Does it matter?" asked Soma and James couldn't agree more. The two of them moved to flanking positions and attacked from the sides, their targets were now the yellow pustules all around her. In response to this, the woman laughed at them as the lower body suddenly secreted a strange goop on the ground. This sent warning bells to both their minds and they both moved back immediately. Had they stayed, they would have been hit hard by the tentacles that shot out of the pustules they were attacking./p  
p class="MsoNormal"As if that was not enough, the giant pustule on its rear suddenly sprouted a fish's head which immediately fired three bullets of water, all of them hitting their targets. James and Soma were sent flying back a good distance by the surprise and momentarily paused, wondering what other tricks this new aragami possessed./p  
p class="MsoNormal"James ignored the potential dangers that came with the new threat and furiously charged forward, attacking the same place as before. The aragami secreted the fluid from before to try and break his run which in a way did succeed. James stopped running and leapt high into the air then came crashing down on the aragami's back spear first. He hacked away at the aragami's back with a vicious expression on his face, despite the aragami trying to knock him off./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The aragami raced towards the walls and tilted its body before crashing into it so that its back and the insect on it could be dislodged. Considering the situation, Soma decided it was best to stick to a rear role for now and heal whenever necessary./p  
p class="MsoNormal"He could feel the hairs on his back stand and could sense a vicious aura coming from the wreckage. The rubble that lay on the floor was cast aside by James who stood up with an almost animalistic aura around him. His eyes screamed bloody murder as he raced towards the aragami. In response to this the aragami fired a barrage of missiles from its feet but James jumped up and dodged it then landed before the woman./p  
p class="MsoNormal"She gave out an amused chuckle which only served to agitate the hunter who attacked with a barrage of strikes. The woman was able to deflect all of them prompting James to move back a little and charge his spear. He darted forward with a spear thrust but she rose her whole body up, causing it to hit the underside which did some damage but noting substantial./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The aragami was about to crash into James as he yanked his spear out and got away in time. He was able to avoid the aragami crashing into him but the field of electricity it created he did not avoid./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Soma watched in shock as James who should have been knocked out from the intensity of that field slowly rise to his feet, reason and logic no longer in his mind./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The field vanished and he resumed his head on attack. The woman prepared herself to meet him head on but at the last moment, he moved to the side and with one swipe from his spear, one of her pustules exploded. This caused the woman to howl in pain but James was not done. He moved to her rear just as the fish's head poked out to greet him. This time though James thrust his spear forward again, shattering the teeth it had. He pulled his spear back then swung out and destroyed the pustule on her rear./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The woman roared again and James leapt over her and attacked her prone form. James did not let up in the attack, prompting her to suddenly grab the blade of his spear and crash her head into his. James skidded back while a streak of blood went down his face. His eyes twitched and he started swinging his spear around him, attacking her from all sides./p  
p class="MsoNormal"In a display of sudden power, the aragami leapt back and when it landed the lower half of her body produced a giant pair of spikes as it marched towards him. James rolled aside to avoid it but it turned around and started coming to him a little faster. He dashed to the side to dodge her again but the aragami turned around and came at him even faster than before./p  
p class="MsoNormal"This time though, James did not dodge and instead brought his shield up to keep from being impaled. The aragami stopped its attack but the woman let out a moan of delight as Venus emitted another field of electricity./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Soma watched on in horror as the attack landed but because he was behind the aragami, he could not see how much damage was done./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The aragami stared at James who remained where he was with his head lowered. Suddenly his head shot up with a menacing expression on his face. He immediately charged his spear then buried it into her chest./p  
p class="MsoNormal" She immediately moved back but James spun around to attack her with a slash to the side. The woman was able to grab it with her hand and was about to unleash another field of electricity./p  
p class="MsoNormal"The field covered James in seconds and he felt his body being pierced by hundreds of needles. He grit his teeth so tightly that it began to bleed as she shifted his spear to a gun then moved towards her. The aragami could not react in time to this and paid the price when James rammed the shaft of the gun against her neck and fired./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Her head soared into the air and by the time it hit the ground, her body also followed. Soma stood shocked at the scene before him. James continued to stand, smoke coming out of his body, wounds all over him but his mind refused to let him fall./p  
p class="MsoNormal"'No more', he said in his mind with unparalleled conviction. No matter how difficult or how many aragami that stood in his way, he would save his friends and the Arius nova would fall./p  
p class="MsoNormal"AN: are we seeing the true self slowly breaking through the mask? Is this signs of things to come?/p 


	58. Chapter 58

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

Dragon Vs. wolf

James quietly stood over their beds, watching for any signs of change in their condition. Getting the aragami core from the Venus did help in calming down the situation with Alisa and Kota but it was still not enough. The two of them were out of danger but were still not out of the woods just yet.

Silently he left the infirmary then headed to another location to continue his construction work. With everything that's going on, he spent a little more time in trying to save the others that he neglected his side project as well. In the end the only thing he could do was spend even less time sleeping and more time working. He did his best not to let it interfere with his missions and so far no one had noticed it.

He let out a self-deprecating chuckle realizing that Alisa seemed to be the only one who noticed when he was acting out of character. He paused a little and wondered why he thought about Alisa but continued his work.

With work behind schedule, he had to hope that today's mission would provide them with enough to push back against the Arius and save his two teammate's lives.

"I'm telling you it was a total 180 difference", said Soma to Lindow and Sakuya.

"This does sound a lot like when he faced that army", said Sakuya

"You know I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around that bit", said Lindow holding his hands up "How did he manage to stand up to a whole army on his own?"

"I've been wondering that for a long time now", said Sakuya remembering the multitude of injuries he suffered and how he recovered from them like it was the most natural thing.

"I say we keep an eye on things for now", said Lindow "He's probably feeling a little pressure because of what happened to Alisa and Kota so he's pushing himself. If he acts a little off after they've recovered then we'll talk to him about it".

"And I think the best one to ask about if he's himself or not is Alisa", stated Sakuya

"Huh?" asked Soma "Why's that?"

"Because she likes him of course", replied the girl and the two men sitting with her were surprised on hearing this.

"What? Don't tell me I'm the only one who knows about this", asked the veteran but that indeed seemed to be the case.

James got off the helicopter then watched it leave and start his mission. Lindow and Sakuya had another mission and were dealing with a large squad of aragami so they took Soma as backup with them at James' suggestion.

All three of them seemed visibly against the idea which was something James did indeed notice. As he made his way through the abandoned power station, he remembered how determined his was in the fight against the Venus and understood that it might have come off the wrong way to Soma. He made a mental note not to let his mask slip, especially around his teammates.

Soon enough he spotted the aragami, codenamed; Caligula.

It bore a physical resemblance to the Hannibal but it's body was covered in a blue armour. It saw James and channelled fire to its left hand and fired a few projectiles of blue fire at him. James casually batted them away like it was nothing. He pointed his spear at the creature, silently challenging it and the aragami accepted.

The two of them darted at each other, meeting in the middle with James attacking first by swinging his spear around and attacking it from all sides. The Caligula held its hands up to block the strikes from the side then leapt up to avoid the sweeping blow. In the air it arched its fist back then shot it forward, aiming it at James who moved aside. The fist crashed into the ground, causing the area around him to shake a little. The aragami saw this as it spun its body around, crashing its tail into James and sent him barrelling into the walls of the power plant.

He crashed through multiple concrete pillars before coming to a halt. Slowly getting to his feet, he was hit by a small piece of concrete on his head which made his eye twitch.

James had little time to stay irritated however as the aragami crashed through the power plant displaying a pair of knives affixed to its arms. Now it went on the offensive by attacking with a barrage of slashes using the knives it hand forcing James to endure the merciless onslaught. Finally the creature attacked with another fist which hit James' shield and sent him back a good distance. The hunter cleared his throat a little and waved his free hand over his face.

"Go blue or go home", he muttered with a smile releasing the shackles and charging forward. The aragami leapt up to dodge the straight thrust but James shifted to gun mode, turned around and fired at it. It was able to block the attack with its arms but what it did not see was James drawing his pistol out of his jacket and firing at it.

The bullet was too small for it to see which was why he could not ascertain its path. The bullet hit the aragami in one of its eyes, causing it to fall onto its back as it crashed into the ground.

The aragami leapt to its feet but used one of its hand to cover the right side of its head which no longer had its eye. James charged then attacked with a low swing causing it to leap. James shifted his stance a little, turning his spear up and changing his attack into an upward swing. The aragami held its hands up to block the attack and was able to deflect the blow.

The aragami noticed that this made James falter a little which was good news for it. The aragami landed then made a beeline towards him. James used the momentum of the deflection to his advantage to charge his spear up, waiting for it to draw closer. The Caligula came at him about to attack with a swipe from its clawed hands but James released the charge in his spear, causing it to come down with incredible speed and landing a slash on the aragami that went from the top of its head all the way to the lower half of its body.

It writhed in pain but James pointed his spear at the aragami taunting it.

"I'm ending this", he said running towards the aragami. The Caligula fired a volley of fireballs at James who used his spear to cut through all the projectiles. It rose to the air and fired a large fireball at him but James did not back down. Instead he charged his spear and pointed it down then released the energy that propelled him upwards. His weapon was charged once again as he swung down, cleaving the fireball in half. What he did not suspect that when he dealt with the projectile the aragami was prepared in advance.

Too late did he realize this and paid for it when the aragami grabbed him with its right hand and threw him violently into the ground. James was only able to recover in time and rolled away to avoid it crashing into the crater he formed with its right fist. He got to his feet then swung out, landing a deep cut on its left foot causing it to take a couple of steps back.

It retaliated with a swing of its knives but James leapt up to avoid it then thrust his spear down, ramming it through and through the aragami's arm. The creature roared in pain then tried to shake him off but James was too stubborn. Even when the aragami rammed him into a building, he refused to let go.

It was only when the Caligula attacked with a swing of his blade did he let go by flipping back and somersaulting high into the air to avoid the blades path. He landed back on its arm and took his spear out then ran up the aragami, leapt off before thrusting his spear into the Caligula's head. The creature writhed about in pain trying to shake him loose, accidentally tossing him high into the air.

The hunter made use of this by positing his foot at exactly the right angle so that when he came down his foot hit the base of the spear, sending it deeper into the aragami's head, putting it down for good this time.

The aragami's lifeless body slumped forward and James slowly took his spear out of the fallen target's head. With a wave of his hand his eyes were back to their regular colour. He now called Hibari on his communicator, requesting pickup on his location.

Alisa slowly opened her eyes, groaning a little as she got used to the lights of the medical room. She sat up and let her vision clear a little, then noticed James sitting next to her with his head on the bed, sound asleep.

She wondered if he was here the whole time keeping an eye on her and smiled a little at the thought. Slowly moving forward she gently brushed some of his aside, admiring how calm he looked when asleep.

It seemed that her gesture caused James to slowly get up as well. He looked at her a couple of times, blinking a little before realizing she was awake.

"Alisa", he called out immediately coming towards her to embrace her in a tight hug. The girl was definitely caught off by this sudden display of affection from an otherwise neutral person. She also did feel a little embarrassed but eventually returned the hug.

"Thank God you're okay", he said releasing the hug and sitting back down "Everyone was so worried about you and Kota".

"That's right", she said in surprise turning to the teenager in bed next to her "How's Kota."

"He responded well to the treatment the doctor gave you guys", he said "With any luck he'll be back to normal as well".

"Um James", she said looking a little red in the cheeks "When you said everyone was worried, you meant you too?"

"Of course, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you guys".

"Really?" she said excitedly then cleared her throat a little and asked much calmer now "Really?"

"Yeah," he said "You're an important person to me Alisa."

"Oh stop it", she said looking bashful.

"Ah but I mean it", he said suddenly holding her hand which caught the girl by surprise "You're important to me Alisa."

Alisa didn't feel sweaty or nervous at all. She felt remarkably calm and she could see why. The girl looked at him holding her hand then lovingly looked at James and said "James…"

"Hey Alisa", shouted Lindow coming into the infirmary and stopped when he noticed the two of them.

"OH wow", he said with a coy smile "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt something".

"Interrupt… Lindow what are you even talking about?" asked James shooting him an accusatory glare while letting go of Alisa which disappointed her a little.

"Oh nothing, nothing", replied the veteran turning around and whistling a tune while walking away.

"Hey get back here and tell me", barked the youth chasing after him.

AN: ah James ever the dunce and Lindow such bad timing. Well we're nearing the end so here's hoping it turns out as well as it did in my mind.


	59. Chapter 59

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: This one's going to be a little longer than usual.

Moonlight Picnic

Today they were in a race against time and the enemy that had a head start. An aragami that would prove to tip the balance either way was spotted near the sunken carrier but it was also noted that Arius was in the location as well.

Not wasting any time; Soma, Lindow, Kota and James all got on the helicopter and headed there. It did not take long for them to spot the aragami fighting an uphill battle against the impervious tank known as the Arius.

"Sakuya keep that damn thing busy", said James standing on the foothold of the helicopter. At this point all three of them knew what would happen next and did not question it when James leapt off the helicopter which was clearly a hundred feet in the air. The sniper meanwhile kept shooting at the Arius while the black and gold aragami slowly moved back.

Arius roared at the shooter and fired some projectiles which the helicopter was able to dodge.

"Get this thing down now, we can provide more help on the ground", called Lindow and the pilot obliged.

The black and gold aragami noticed this lull in the attack and took this opportunity to slowly back away. The predator before it was impossible to be beaten and it was prudent that it left the battlefield while it still could.

Unfortunately, it did not notice that while one predator was pushed back another predator drew closer. The new aragami failed to notice the falling god eater above till it was too late. With momentum and gravity in his favour, the god eaters spear crashed into the aragami's head, killing it instantly.

The impact however did send a shockwave from James' feet all the way up to his head causing him to let go of his god arc and hit the ground while the aragami that he attacked also fell to the ground.

"Damn it", said Lindow looking at the leader then turned back to the others. The Arius was taken aback for a moment but it soon went on the offensive by pouncing on the trio of god eaters. All three of them leapt back to avoid them just as James charged forward and attacked it. Though his spear only did the job of hitting on the surface, the force of his attack was able to disorient the aragami a little.

Seeing this opportunity, James jabbed his god arc into the ground then drew out his pistol in one hand and kunai in the other. Before the Arius realized what was going on, the teenager leapt forward, embedding his knife into one eye and emptied his magazine into the other eye.

James flipped back and was joined by the others. The aragami was completely blinded as it thrashed about trying to hit them but only caught air. Just like before as well, they noticed it was now being pushed back by an invisible force.

Soma and James immediately looked around, spotting Shio standing on top of some wreckage with her right hand pointed at the Arius. The aragami instinctively turned to her and fired an energy beam causing the girl to stop her attack and move aside lest she get hit.

The god eaters met with the singularity, forming a line of shields which prevented the blinded aragami from attacking while she continued to push it back. Finally weakened, the aragami was forced to retreat, allowing four of them to take a breather.

Now that that was done, they turned to the next big question which was Shio. The girl stood still, staring at them while James and Soma cautiously stepped forward. Realizing what they were doing, the duo placed their god arcs into the ground then proceeded forward.

Shio stared at them with the same curious expression she did when they first met. James and Soma placed their hands on her shoulder and were instantly bombarded with her memories, hitting them all at once.

Being too much for either of them to bear, they both let go and Soma spoke first

"You're not her are you?" he asked and she nodded in response.

"I am only a fragment of a memory", she said finally speaking "My original self, left this world to protect those she cared for like you and you and so many others".

"So how did you come to be?" asked James

"I was born from the many fragments of the Nova that were left behind when the full body ascended to the moon. I am just like that other form"

"The Arius", said Soma giving words to their thoughts.

"While the other one exists only to consume and destroy, I wish to protect everyone".

It did not surprise them that after saying that, the fragment belonging to the singularity vanished.

"You heard that right?" asked James to Soma

"She's still trying to protect us", replied Soma with his head lowered and he was right. When the world was facing a crisis, it was her that saved them. Even now when they were facing an impossible power in the form of the Arius Nova, it was not their own power but hers that kept them safe.

Realizing their weakness, the pair turned around and took their god arcs. They met with Lindow and Sakuya, informed them of what transpired and what they found out then headed home.

After debrief was done, Dr. Sakaki borrowed a magazine and knife from James, curious about the materials used to craft the weapon.

"When you think about it", said James resting back against the chair "She's like our guardian angel".

"A most apt comparison", mused Sakaki and sat back "Where are we with the other project?"

"I had to give up a few nights of sleep but now things are moving ahead of the schedule", he replied "With any luck it should be completed in a couple of weeks."

"I'd like you to put more effort into it James, try and complete it by this week", said the Doctor causing James to raise his eyebrow.

He was about to ask something but then he heard the door behind him open and Sakuya, Soma, Lindow, Kota and Alisa all came into the room.

"I'm glad you're all here", said the doctor "Our recent reports indicated that after its recent run in with us, the Arius seems to have entered its next phase of evolution".

"Seriously?" asked Sakuya in surprise "So it's going to get even stronger now?"

"Yes, what you've been facing so far could be that of a larval form and what we'll be seeing next would be it's full adult form."

"That being said we do have a chance to beat this aragami and that chance comes in the form of this", said the doctor holding up a single bullet.

"Though made of technology that is outdated, the materials and oracle cells used in the production of the bullets and knives James used have proven to be a deterrent. Normally the best move is to mass produce it but seeing as we have a short time frame, the best we can do is work on making one bullet".

"The idea is that once it has emerged in its adult form, we'll have one of our snipers hit it with this bullet thus weakening it's defences. This should in theory create a window of opportunity for the god eaters to strike and hopefully defeat the aragami.

"There's a lot of whatever's in this plan doc", said Soma with a tired expression.

"One mistake and its game over", said Kota biting his fingernail "Can we really do it?"

"By the way", said James ignoring the doubt that everyone had "When is this thing due?"

"Three more days", said Sakaki "Which happens to be right when the moon will be closest to Earth".

"Alright then", said James with renewed vigour. He shot up like a bullet and turned to his team "You have three days, sleep, eat, listen to music, play games, watch T.V whatever. Spend it wisely because when its mission time I want everyone laser focused."

"Let's not forget that our guardian angel will be watching this particular mission so let's put on a performance of a lifetime".

The embers that seemed dormant in his teammates all lit up from his words. Where there was once doubt and uncertainty, there was now focus and determination. They all nodded to him in agreement and one by one they left the room.

"Don't worry Doc", said James turning around looking as determined as the rest of the team "We're going to win".

"You know I'll never forget your first day here", said Lindow taking a sip of beer while Sakuya chuckled at the memory.

"You were all skittish and nervous around both of us", she added

"I was not", objected James and reached for a bottle only to have his hand slapped away by Sakuya.

"Hey", he said nursing his injury

"Sorry James but you're never allowed to touch alcohol".

"Why?"

"Because", she replied

"That's not an answer", said James crossing his arms.

"Trust me it is", countered Lindow

"But getting back", said Sakuya with a pause "You certainly have come a long way from that kid we met".

"Yeah, you're one hell of a leader and one hell of a friend", added Lindow "Looking forward to seeing the kind of man you're going to become".

With a nod, James left the couple and headed out of the room. He found himself wandering the branch for a while with no real aim in sight. Finally he came to a halt at the lounge and took some time or organize his thoughts and goals.

The fight before him and the one after that, it seemed like he was going to be tremendously busy for a while and he liked that.

"You know this is a pretty big deal for us to ignore other bounties and help you out", said Karel's voice in the distance.

"Yeah a real big deal", added Shun "Geniuses like myself aren't suited for routing enemy forces".

"I know, I know", said Alisa "Thank you guys for helping me out and I promise to bring you along on any of our more lucrative missions".

James closed his eyes, letting his mind wander across run freely for a little while, till he heard her voice.

"There you are", said Alisa followed by her coming down the stairs.

"Are those two giving you a tough time because I can ask Gina to rein them in", said James as she sat beside him.

"Something you want to talk about?"

"This Friday", she said "A day after our upcoming mission, I need you to clear your schedule".

"Why?" he asked sounding a little cautious

"Because we'll be going out on a date", she replied.

"Huh?"

"You and me", she said pointing to him first and then her "We're going out, on a date".

"But…"

"Sorry you're not allowed to object", she said placing a finger on his lip and silenced him.

"But… why?" he asked still trying to figure out what she was saying and failing to do so.

"You have to take responsibility", she replied casually "Now that you've lit a fire inside all of us, we're all going around thinking we can do just about anything. Seeing as this is again your fault for making it happen; you're the one who should take responsibility for it."

"So", she said getting up and walking towards the elevator "Friday, you and I a date. Make sure to dress in something nice alright".

Doing his best to put that incident in the back of his mind, time went by quickly and on the day of Arius' return, the team gathered.

The moon hung brightly in the night sky, the six of them stood in a large open field with numerous cherry blossom trees in full bloom. It gave the area a sort of vibrance and certainly looked like a place suited for battle.

Sitting ominously on top of a cliff, overlooking the battlefield was a large egg, which everyone knew who it belonged to.

"Get your game faces on ladies and gents", said James tightening his grip on his god arc "This ones for all the marbles".

"Sakuya I need you to fire this", he said handing her the bullet "Stay in rear guard and provide support. Lindow take the left flank and Soma will take the right. Kota stay a few meters from us and provide cover and Alisa, you're with me".

The team nodded and started falling into position. When they stood on the battlefield, they looked up to see a good portion of the night sky was taken up by the moon.

A sudden crack and rumble of the ground however reminded them that sightseeing was over. All of them looked at the egg which started displaying more and more cracks while the rumbling also grew louder.

Finally the top of the egg shattered wide open and from it Arius leapt out and hit the ground, displaying its fully adult form. It now displayed a set of spiked wings with a pink coloured halo floating above it. It's claws grew longer and it had two large pair of teeth as well. It slowly moved around, taking into account its surroundings and realized what was going on. It growled at all the hunters that had assembled but none of them backed down.

James twirled the spear around before pointing the blade at Arius and it roared back at him.

"Let's dance".

Sakuya pressed the trigger on her rifle, firing the bullet which hit the aragami on the shoulder. That was the signal

All of a sudden, the field was alive with the sound of gunfire. The hunters from the front and side all charged ahead, attacking from all sides. Arius quickly leapt up to avoid them then came crashing down with a swipe from its wings. All of them moved aside to dodge it and when it landed, Alisa leapt off James' back to hit it with a downward slash on the shoulder.

The aragami responded by creating numerous pillars of energy all around it and the hunters causing them to immediately scatter. If the energy columns did not injure them, then the crystalline spikes that formed in its wake were sure to. James moved towards one of the structures and lopped it off with a swing of his blade before kicking it right into the aragami's face.

It brushed off the attack and was staggered for a moment, allowing Soma to ram his god arc into the aragmi's front paw. It roared and struggled in pain but he did not let go. Then it swung out with one of its wings aiming at Soma's head but the attack was blocked by Lindow who held his infected hand up, halting the attack.

Using this momentum, James ran up its wing before it extended back and came crashing down with a swing of his spear, landing a deep blow on the aragami.

It moved back from it and roared at them then spun around, knocking all of the attackers back. Once it was done, it settled its attention to James and started attacking him with swings from its sharp and lethal wings. The others tried to come to his aid but were hindered when all around the Arius crystalline spikes formed in the air then shot out at them.

James slid underneath the enemy to avoid it lunging forward with its jaws wide open. When underneath, he swung his spear out numerous times; landing blow after blow on the aragami's underside. In response to this, the aragami leapt high into the air, then fired those spiked projectiles at the others. It tilted its body ever so slightly to the side so that when it came down, it would spin with its wings pointed out, turning it into a lethal saw.

The teenager and everyone else all instinctively moved back to avoid being caught. When it hit they charged forward only to have it create multiple energy columns around it as a deterrent.

Only the Vanguard remained defiant in the face of this attack, charging right through and badly damaging his right side in the process. This action seemingly caught the aragami by surprise and it paid dearly for that mistake as James struck a blow on its face strong enough that it broke one of its teeth.

At this point, the world around them began to deteriorate and the two of them entered a dance of death. On one side the aragami leapt then moved back and charged, attacking with its mouth, its claws and its wings. On the other side, the miniscule human by comparison twirled his spear around him forming a field that parried his enemies blows while leaving him opportunities and openings to attack.

Seeing his chance, James ran forward then thrust his spear just as the aragami raised its body up. His spear struck it on the underside but the aragami flipped back, thus hurtled James into the air. It leapt up after him as well and before the teenager could react, the aragami crashed its claws to land three deep cuts on the teenagers body while also sending him into the battleground below with a sick thud.

Given the height of his ascent, force of the attack and speed of his descent, he should have been dead. Any normal human should have died from the strike alone.

But the retaliation team knew well that he was not human and their leader confirmed this by getting to his feet without a care in the world, despite the gaping wounds on his chest. He simply took out a few healing syringes, jabbed it into his neck and proceeded. The aragami also charged at him and the two met in the centre, producing a clash like never before.

The two sides unleashed hell upon each other, landing blow after blow while creating a field around them that threatened to destroy anything that came closer. The speed at which both of them moved around and attacked each other was almost unimaginable to those who watched.

Finally the two of them skidded back, both sides looking visibly exhausted from the exchange. James looked into the yellow eyes of his opponent and the Arius did the same.

No more dancing around. James charged his spear to the highest possible level while it's wings started to glow an ominous maroon in response. The two of them raced towards each other, ready to end this.

At the last moment however, James broke into a slide causing the aragami to fall into the trap. When he passed underneath it, Lindow threw his god arc, ramming it into the creatures side and Soma did the same on the other side as well. The aragami looked at both sides and fired projectiles but its targets were too wily for it. If that wasn't enough Sakuya fired a stream of bullets and all of them broke the bonds in its right leg. Kota fired a barrage that broke the bonds in its front left paw to make it even harder for it to move around.

The aragami had enough of all these troubling humans and in response to their onslaught, it suddenly spun around on its axis, unleashing a tornado of pink which sent all of the attackers flying back. Everyone of them hit the walls that surrounded the battlefield with the exception of the sniper who cried out to see if they were okay.

James pressed his hand into the ground but his body struggled to raise itself up. The blood loss sustained from the earlier attack was taking its toll on him. His eyes started struggled to open while his body grew weary and tired.

The aragami drew closer and closer to the one human that seemed to recover from its attack. Out of everyone it had faced, this one was by far the most troublesome one of them all. It stood over him like the spectre of death about to deal the final blow with a swing from its wings.

'NO!' shouted Shio's voice in his mind and his right arm shot up like a bullet, the spear being the only thing that kept his heard from getting lopped off his shoulders.

"Not a chance", he said raising his bloodied head up. In response to this the aragami leapt back only to see that the others it had previously hurt were getting back up as well.

Alisa nodded to James and she took advantage of this opportunity, charging forward to attack with a swing from her sword, cleaving the target's right hind leg.

Arius retaliated by taking to the skies once again and leapt up but even there it was not safe. It found that Lindow and Soma were also there with it and the two cut off its wings with a swing from their swords.

As it tumbled to the ground, descending like a fallen angel; on the ground the maw of the hunter readied itself for what was to come. His spear continued to gather more and more energy till the Arius was in reach.

James ran forward and leapt up, his spear arched back as far as possible before bringing it down on the Arius, cleaving it clean in two.

The two halves of the body crashed into the ground while James landed on his feet. He gave one last scoff to the fallen aragami just as the rest of his team came to his side.

They were about to say something else when they noticed a fragment of Shio walking out of Arius' corpse.

"I never got to thank you for saving my life back then", said Lindow then gave a deep bow "I owe you big time for that".

"I hope you're taking good care of yourself Shio", said Alisa

"We'll never forget you alright", said Sakuya "You're not just part of the team, you're family".

"Thanks to you Shio, my mom, sis and everyone else I love get to live another day", said Kota with a sheepish grin "I'll always remember you."

Soma looked a little apprehensive about what to say. It was only when James kicked him in the ass thus pushing him forward did the moody teenager make his way to Shio.

"You taught me how important it is to let people in. How I should learn to listen to everyone around me", he said along with a thank you but that was said so softly only a dog or someone with great hearing could pick it up.

"Thanks Shio", said James with a soft smile to her "And goodbye".

The girl smiled at them then waved her hand as her body starting to fade. Everyone present knew that this would indeed be the last time they would see her so none of them wanted to say what they thought or let their real feelings show.

They sent the girl off with a smile and when she was gone and the light of the battlefield faded, their tears finally began to flow.

A victory for the far east but at the same time it was a painful one that reminded them of the price that was paid.


	60. Chapter 60

Disclaimer: I do not own the God Eater franchise but I do have control over original characters and storylines.

AN: That's right the whole thing is over but wait, there's one last thing that has to happen.

WAR

After the team had said their goodbyes and returned home, they celebrated.

The party lasted on till late in the night and after everyone had gone to sleep, the far east branch was silent.

Except for one person

James spent some time touring the place once again, remembering his time here and recalling everything that happened. Moments of happiness, sadness, laughter and so much more, the thoughts flashed through his mind while he toured the empty facility.

He reached his room and found his packed bag. Everything that he needed was there so he did not need to spend too long looking around.

Silently the vanguard made his way to an elevator and after keying in a unique code, he descended to depths that no one else knew of.

The elevator came to a stop and he stepped out, god arc in hand. His feet echoed through the empty metal corridor and he continued his silent march till he spotted a familiar face.

"You'll find I've packed enough food and supplies to last you a few years, maybe more if you ration it well", said Dr. Sakaki with his fake smile once again.

James did not need to say anything. He bowed to the doctor, silently showing his respect and thanking him for helping the teenager carry out his crazy goals.

James passed by the doctor who quietly asked him "Are you sure you want to do this?"

They both knew the answer well in advance. Sakaki knew as well that James would never back down from his ambitions.

"Then make sure to come back and tell me one hell of a story", said Doctor no longer smiling but instead with a serious look on his face.

James got into the vehicle, taking a moment to check and see if everything was ready. His knowledge on the subject was one that was gained in only a week but he was confident enough that he could handle the vehicle.

"You all set?" asked Sakaki through the monitor and James nodded

"Anything you want to say before going?" he asked and James pondered the question.

"Let's go start a war", said James

Despite his statement though, the war was already underway. The enemy fired the first shot and won the battle. But the ever defiant and insane leader of the retaliation unit would never back down from anyone, even an enemy as fierce and terrible as the one he was about to face.

Sakaki watched James leave, silently praying that this will not be the last time he sees him.

AN: so that's it the end of the first part in the god arc saga. Stay tuned for the next piece of work which tells the story of the Blood unit and more stuff as well.

Also massive thanks to fnchan for being the first person that ever liked my work. It means a lot.

Many thanks to TheSwagZeus and Trafalar D Water Law for following and favouriting this work as well.

And finally thank you to the community whoever you guys and girls are. I really appreciate how many people viewed my first bit of FF work.


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